Vital Lies
by illman
Summary: It wasn’t at all what they expected it to be Atlantis trades with a highly advanced race and is caught up in their domestic problems. WIP
1. Prologue

_Title: Vital Lies._

_Author: Illman_

_Beta: Unbetaed._

_Date: 06/04/2005_

_Warnings: violence, mpreg (later on)_

_Disclaimer: It's their universe, not mine._

_Summary: It wasn't at all what they expected it to be - Atlantis trades with a highly advanced race and is caught up in their domestic problems._

_Author's Notes: Written for Gaia's mpreg challenge which was to write a cliche-less mpreg fic that didn't make her gag. I just had to give it a try. It will take a while before the story gets to the actual mpreg part. Don't take it too seriously and try not to flame._

* * *

The door slammed shut. The sound echoed like a gunshot in the silence of the room. John was shaken out of the semi-conscious daze he had been drifting in for the past few hours as the alien guards had beaten him long after it was clear that he was not going to answer their questions. At some point, his memory was hazy, blanking mercifully portions of the last twenty four hours, and he had been brought into this room.

It was dark; the only light came through a small window close to the ceiling. It was not enough to really see anything. The illumination it provided only allowed recognizing the basic outlines of the room. It was sufficient for John to see that he was not alone. He closed his eyes in relief. They had to be still alive, otherwise, they wouldn't have kept them in here, he reasoned with himself. But he had to help them. The last time he had seen Carson, before their mysterious captors had taken him away, he had been bleeding badly.

Atlantis knew what had happened and they would be sending a rescue party for them. John clung to that thought, ignoring all that factors why a rescue mission might still fail. Instead he concentrated on holding on until help arrived.

John tugged on his wrists which were secured to some sort of steel rail or pipe, he could not tell in the darkness. His captors had simply used a rag to tie him up, probably knowing that even if he did get loose, he would not get away anyways.

It still took John far to long to loosen the binding on his wrists. His fingers were swollen and stiff from having had the circulation to cut off. The rags had been tied tight around his wrists, but he didn't feel any fresh blood there.

Finally, he got his arms loose. It was a relief to be able to move his shoulders that had been forced into one position for too long.

Carson was only a few feet away, but getting there proved to be a challenge to brought tears to John's eyes. He could not recall a time before in his life that his body had hurt this much. When the guards had taken turns beating him and kicking him, he had passed out fairly fast due to blood loss from his prior injuries. Not this time, he crawled across the ground, unable to get his legs to obey the commands of his brain. His rib felt like they were on fire and every inch was agony.

Carson seemed impossibly far away. John had to take several break to reach him. Time lost its meaning. The only thing that existed was the distance between him and Carson and the pain.

Carson was lying in a sea of blood. The warm stickiness was the first thing John felt when he finally reached Carson. Desperation at the amount of blood in front of him on the concrete floor gave him renewed energy and he pulled himself up with his arms, feeling for a pulse. Carson's skin felt cold and clammy, but he was still alive. His pulse was slow and weak.

John didn't hesitate and stripped of his tee-shirt. It was far from clean and had already a fair amount of his own blood on it, but it was all he had. He folded the shirt and turned Carson on his back.

"Sorry, Carson. I know this hurts like hell." he apologized.

Carson didn't stir.

Using his tee-shirt and the remnants of Carson's own tee-shirt, John did the best he could at bandaging the steadily bleeding wound in Carson's abdomen. He feared that the projectile was still stuck inside Carson as there was no sign of an exit wound, but there was nothing he could do about that now. All he could do now was hope that the rescue team got to them in time. John sunk to the floor, his last energy reserve spent.

The guards all looked the same. Grim faces, grey uniforms, dark hair, carrying guns. Three of them stormed into the room. John woke from a dreamless sleep when he was roughly pulled up by one of them.

"Up with you." The guard commanded coldly. When John didn't react immediately the guard kicked him and then pulled him to his feet. As soon as he let go, John collapsed again. He suppressed a pained groan as he hit the floor. John gasped when he saw what was going on next to him. The second guard, having had no luck rousing Carson, had taken his gun to Carson's head.

John's attention was jerked away when he was pulled into a sitting position and suddenly felt the muzzle of a gun pressed to the back of his head.

This was it then. Not the ending he had had in mind, but it was better than getting sucked the life out of himself by the Wraith that was for sure. At least it was going to be quick. But Carson shouldn't be here. John wondered whether they had interrogated him as well. Probably. What had he told them? How much did he know about Atlantis' defences and security? It didn't matter now. What had happened had happened.

A gunshot disrupted the silence. John twitched. Carson! He forced himself not to look. He waited for the inevitable. He heard the click of the safety being taken off. Suddenly he was blinded by a flash. Did your life really flash before your eyes before you died? John never heard the shot that drove a bullet into his skull.

TBC


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer see Chapter 1

A/N: Text in italics represents flashbacks.

* * *

"Ijkar the fourth will see you know. I shall lead you to the meeting room. May I once again express how sorry I am that such an incident has occurred while you were our guests."

Yraj, the royal aide, greeted the Atlantian delegation that was assembled in the palatial entrance hall.

"What we need aren't apologies, we need permission to search for our people. Two days and you have nothing but words. It took you two days just to get as an appointment with your leader. In the meantime we had to make due with a useless diplomat." Rodney ranted.

"Rodney. It's not helping." Elizabeth warned as they climbed up a stairwell, following Yraj.

Rodney had been particularly tense since the terrorist attack on the ministry of foreign affairs on Yamin. Atlantis had been in negotiations with Ymanhin people for almost six months and a vital alliance had started to develop. All the more disturbing was the fact that in the attack two days ago, Major Sheppard and Dr. Beckett had kidnapped. Numerous Ymanhin had been wounded or killed. The current negotiations had been especially important; the Atlantians had the prospect of acquiring a nearly fully charged ZPM from the Ymanhin. Of course, a ZPM didn't come cheap and the negotiation had been going for ten days already. The Ymanhin were not interested in material goods, they had made it clear, and that they would only accept knowledge and technology in exchange for the ZMP, so John, Rodney and Carson had been along to evaluate any demands that were made.

When the group reached the meeting room, Ijkar was already waiting for them. Yraj took a seat in a corner of the room.

"Please seat down." Ijkar motioned to the couch-like seating arrangements.

"It is unfortunate that we have to meet under such circumstances. I have asked my capable representative Wam Vter to join as at a later time. He told me that he had the feeling that you were not satisfied by how he was handling the situation. I felt it was in order to speak to you personally. The continuation of our alliance is a matter close to my heart."

"We too wish to continue relations with your people. Especially the negotiations to acquire a ZPM device are very important to our people and I would hope to see them continued."

"As you wish, as soon as Wam Vter gets here, you can schedule a date for the negotiations to be resumed."

"What is being done to find Major Sheppard and Dr. Beckett? Do you know whether they are still alive?" Rodney asked impatiently. He didn't care about the negotiations right now.

"Well, you know what happened. We think that the attack was committed by a group called Denebria, last known to be led by a man named Turan. But we don't know much more. We have a man on the inside, but he hasn't contacted as in a while. We have to wait. The military is checking preparing to hike the mountains in North Kintarin as we speak. The group is know to have hiding places there. We will find them."

But it might be too late for John and Carson, Rodney added mentally. Who knew what they were doing to them. They could be dead already. The though made his stomach clench.

"Another reason I have asked you here, is that I wish to officially apologise in the name of my people. The members of Denebria are xenophobic extremist and it cast a shadow on all of us that we have allowed a minority to commit such destructive actions. In the name of all of Ymanhin, I apologize for the damage cause to you and your people and promise that I will do everything to bring those responsible to justice. An official apology will appear in all major papers tomorrow and will be broadcast on the media tonight." the leader promised.

"Thank you." Elizabeth said stiffly.

"I will keep you up to date on the progress of our investigation into the matter of the attack."

Rodney folded the last of his shirts and put it into his pack. His hands trembled as he closed his pack. The last two days were catching up with him now. He had been living in a daze since the terrorist attack.

* * *

_"We shall break for now and resume our talk in an hour." Wam Vter, the Ymanhin liaison announced._

_Everyone present nodded in agreement. It had been a long morning. The Ymanhin started their business talks at sunset. Rodney got up from his seat and stretched his muscles. After six hours of sitting his muscles felt stiff. He joined John by the window. As enjoyable as they view of Fiatyn, the capital city of South Kintarin was, Rodney couldn't wait to get back to Atlantis. Ten days of twelve hours a day of negotiations had been exhausting in a way that he hadn't anticipated._

_"Makes a miss the ocean, doesn't it?" John turned to Rodney._

_Before Rodney could reply, thunder exploded, deafening him and the ground shook. The large windows John and Rodney had just been standing at shattered into thousands of tiny pieces raining down on them. Rodney's ears were still ringing when the ground vibrated again. Like in a bizarre dream, he saw the door to the conference room fall out of the frame in slow motion. Two masked men stormed in, brandished guns. Rodney could hear their angry voices, but didn't understand what they were saying. Everything was distorted, like it was a movie being played at the wrong speed. Someone grabbed him and pulled him down flat to the ground just before gunshots started ringing out. Somewhere an alarm went off and and water started spraying down on them. More shouts followed._

_"Get up! Hurry up if you want to live! Only the aliens, the traitors stay. Don't move!" One of the masked men shouted._

_Rodney's head was spinning; he had troubled processing all that was happening at once. John had a firm grab on his arm and helping him to his feet._

_"Faster!" The man yelled angrily and fired a shot with his gun to underline his point. In front of Rodney and John, Elizabeth and Carson were stumbling towards the remnants of the door, one of the gunmen behind them._

_Rodney staggered ahead towards the door. If it had not been for John supporting him, he would have fallen. The room seemed to have taken on enormous size; the door was miles away from where they had stood when the window shattered._

_"Move it. We should never have associated with the likes of you. Filth like you will be the down fall of Kintarin. Move faster!" The leader hissed. _

_The muzzle of a gun stabbed Rodney in the back. His head cleared with shock and he sped up his movements, still uncoordinated, but energized by fear. He risked a look at John's face. John was looking blank. He didn't show fear or terror, there was nothing to read on his face. Rodney envied that, his own mind was reeling with panic._

_They had been led down the hallway when everything happened at once. Rodney couldn't see what was going on, when suddenly gunshots erupted followed by alarmed screams. _

_One moment John was next to him, the next moment, John was on the ground, his face distorted in pain. His mouth was moving, but he was producing no sounds. His eyes were open, but glazed over in agony, his gaze without focus._

_Rodney fell to his knees next to John, frantically grabbing his hand._

_"Hold on, John. Please, don't move. It's going to be all right." Rodney babbled on, whispering to John. He repeated the words over and over._

_Only when his vision blurred, he noticed that he was crying._

_Without warning the ground shook again with a violent tremor. Rodney saw the wall rushing towards him. He started terrified for a moment then and without a second thought threw himself across John to protect him from the falling debris.

* * *

_

_Rodney woke with a start. His heart was racing as he clutched at the blanket covering him. His eyes darted widely around the room. John? The gunmen? Rodney panicked, not recognizing the room he was in. Images assailed him, flashing before his eyes. John falling to the ground, blood spatters on the ground around him. The crash of shattering glass. The shockwave of the first explosion taking him by surprise, knocking him off his feet._

_John? Where was he? He had to help John. John had been hurt and needed help. Rodney's mind was reeling. he jumped from the bed, ignoring the surge of pain trailing up his ribcage. He was half-way to the door when it opened and a young woman, followed by Elizabeth entered._

_"Rodney!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "Are you all right?"_

_"Please Dr. McKay, lie back down. You are not fully healed yet." The woman, one of the Ymanhin as evident by her pale, almost bluish skin, went to guide him back to bed. Rodney shook her hand off his arm and focussed on Elizabeth. Her sudden arrival confused him even more. The last time, he recall seeing her, she had been led by a gunman down a corridor in the ministry of foreign affairs._

_"What's going on? Where are John and Carson?" Rodney staggered back in the direction of the bed. The sharp pain in his chest led him to reconsider whether getting up had been such a good move after all._

_"Can we have a moment alone?" Elizabeth turned to the woman who was still standing in the corner._

_"Of course. I shall come back later." She gave a small bow and left._

_"Yesterday morning there was a terrorist attack on the ministry of foreign affairs in Fiatyn." Elizabeth said gently, moving closer to the bed._

_"Yes, yes. I remember. Explosions." Rodney shook his head to clear to cobwebs of fragmented memories._

_"Yes, there were several explosions according to the authorities. The entire upper half of the building collapsed." Elizabeth paused, looking down. "A wall came down right on top of you. It looked like you were dead." Elizabeth swallowed._

_The falling fall. He had thrown himself on top of John to protect him._

_"What happened to John? Where is he?" Rodney urged._

_"John and Carson are missing." Elizabeth said solemnly. _

_"Missing? How can they simply be missing?" Rodney almost shouted._

_"The police think that the terrorist may have taken them as hostages. In the meantime, they are still searching the rest of the building for bodies."_

_"So they think they could be dead?"_

_"Yes. I don't know what happened either. When the corridor started to come down, I was knocked out."_

_"John was hurt, he'd been shot." Rodney almost whispered, horrified._

_"The police and military is searching for them since they went missing. They will let us know as soon as they have something."_

_Rodney nodded. His mind was still trying to process the news. _

_"Isn't there something, anything that we can do?" Rodney finally asked._

_"I'm afraid not. We are staying at least until the rescue teams have finished searching the ministry building for any survivor or bodies in the rubble. Then we'll know more. We have people helping the Ymanhin with the search. Sergeant Bates is leading the teams."_

_"I want to help." Rodney was determined._

_"You can't. You were badly hurt when the wall came down. If it weren't for the Ymanhin advanced medical technology you wouldn't even have survived." Concern tinged Elizabeth voice._

_"Where are we here?" For the first time since he had woken up, Rodney took in his surrounding. They were in a small room. The sole furniture consisted of a bed and a table by the window._

_"The Fiatyn Medical Centre, you were rushed there as soon as they dug you out of the rubble. I sent for Dr. Alley to come here as soon as I heard. He has been overseeing your treatment and acting as a consultant. I expect he will see you later on."

* * *

_

That had been yesterday. His ribs were still painful to the touch and the pink skin marked where the newly healed wounds were. Dr. Alley would have liked him to stay at the medical centre for a few more days, until the nano bots complete mending the hairline fracture to his skull, but he had insisted to leave. He could not bear to spend another day of inactivity.

Rodney felt as if his world had been tilted, ever since he had woken up in the medical centre he had felt off balance, like a part of his life was missing. He had hardly gotten any sleep, every time he closed his eyes, images from the attack flashed before him, he saw the windows shatter, the masked gunmen pointing their guns at them, John's face contorted in pain.

Rodney couldn't bear to stay on Yamin. Sergeant Bates and the rescue teams had finished searching the ministry buildings. To Rodney's great relief, they had not found John's or Carson's body among the rubble. But he could not bear finishing negotiations while John was missing on an alien planet.

Rodney got to his feet and left the room where he was staying during the negotiations. He made his way down the hall towards Elizabeth's room. He knocked on the door.

"Come in." The response was immediate. Rodney entered.

Elizabeth looked up. "How are you, Rodney?"

"I'm okay." Rodney lied. "I think I should go back to Atlantis. I'd be of more use there. I'm not really needed at the negotiations at the moment. I can send Dr. Zelenka over to handle any matters that come up."

"Are you sure that you are all right? I talked to Dr. Alley today. He is concerned about you. Maybe you should go back to the medical centre."

"No, no, I'm fine." Rodney repeated. "I just need to get away." He added in a small voice.

"It's all right, Rodney. It's been a shock for all of us. But we can't give up hope now. Go back to Atlantis. I'll send Dr. Alley back along with you. I want him to check you out in the infirmary and I want you to talk to Dr. Heightmeyer when you get back."

* * *

_One week later_

Rodney sat up on the edge of his bed. He rubbed his face. It was early morning; pale pre-dawn light came through the window in his room. It was yet another morning since his return that he had been woken by disturbing dreams. Memories of the attack intermingled with images of John's dead body. Sometimes, he saw him crushed by falling debris, sometimes he saw him bleed to death from the gunshot wound. Why John? Why had they taken John and Carson while sparing him and Elizabeth? This question had haunted him over and over during his time in the infirmary. After his return, Dr. Alley who was temporarily taking over Carson's position had insisted to keep him in the infirmary for a few more days. Yesterday, he had finally released Rodney to his quarters. Now Rodney was alone with his nightmares. He had been to see Dr. Heightmeyer all right, but he could only talk about so much with her. He understood the flashbacks to the attack and the nightmares that he was experiences. Dr. Heightmeyer had assured him that they were a normal reaction to a traumatic event like the one he had been through. But there was no one he could talk to about his grief about John. He wasn't sure he wanted to. What he and John had shared couldn't be put into words.

TBC


	3. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer see Prologue_

_Chapter 2_

* * *

Rodney strode into the make-shift commissary. It was cold and windy in the tent on M5X-209. He could have requisitioned more portable radiators from Atlantis, but he wanted to run the mining outpost with being as little of a burden to the City as possible. He knew what the personnel were saying about him behind his back, he had heard the gossip. Nobody wanted to be assigned to M5X-209. They all feared the harsh conditions and his harsh rule.

Rodney's gaze swept over the commissary and his eyes narrowed on two metallurgists sitting on the far end. He purposefully strode over to their table and slammed their reports on the table, taking no regard of their breakfast.

They looked at him, aghast.

"Those reports are flawed. You might have won the science fair at high school with them, but here there is a different standard. I expect them within an our on my desk." Rodney left the commissary, on the way to the lab. He was sure there were some late comers he needed to straighten out. He was half way there when Dr. Harris intercepted him.

"Dr. McKay, Atlantis just contacted us. It's Dr. Weir, she wants to speak with you."

"What are you doing here then? You should have contacted me on the radio instead of wasting time." Rodney snapped.

"You weren't answering your radio." Dr. Harris said, not looking up.

Rodney ignored him and made his way to the main tent, where they had set up a the communications equipment.

He didn't want to talk to Elizabeth; he already knew what she wanted. She had contacted him before, trying to convince him to rejoin off-world missions with the newly formed team of Teyla, Aiden and Sergeant Stackhouse. Rodney's refusal had been adamant. He had always insisted that he was needed here to work on setting up the mining operation.

Rodney entered the main tent. Captain Stryker, the military commander of the mining outpost waved him over.

"Hold on, Dr. Weir, Dr. McKay just got here." he spoke into the radio the connected them to Atlantis when the Gate was open.

Rodney nodded and took Stryker's place.

"Hey Elizabeth, it's me."

"Rodney. It's good to talk to you. How are you?"

"I'm fine. You are getting the reports. You know that everything is going fine over here. Everyone is happy. I don't want to go back. Mining the Lavinthin is vital to the defence of Atlantis. Without it we can't make energy bullets that Earth weapons can fire. As you know I really can't leave." Rodney ranted on before Elizabeth had a chance to say anything.

"Rodney, I know. We are all aware of the things you have done for the City in the last two months. I only wanted to let you know that we have received a message from the Ymanhin an hour ago. Minister Wam Vter has news about Major Sheppard and Dr. Beckett. They have been found. That's all we know."

"Found? Are they alive?" Rodney stammered after a pause. He had given up all hope, he had left Atlantis to stop being reminded of John and now there was a chance that he was alive?

"They have been found that was all the message said. Teyla, Aiden, Stackhouse, Dr. Alley and I are getting ready to gate to Yamin now. I thought you wanted to be there as well."

"Yeah...sure. I...I'll be there." Rodney tried to regain his composure.

"I'll see you in Atlantis then." The connection was closed from the other end. Rodney looked around and found everyone staring at him.

"Get back to work! There is plenty to do!" He yelled, recovering from his surprise over the news. He needed time to process what he had just heard, but this was not the place for it.

His heart craved to hope to see John again, but his mind cautioned him against it, he didn't know what was going to await him. After all, for two month there had been no word, not a single communication with Yamin and now all of a sudden they were sending for them. Rodney's first instinct was to be suspicious. He wanted to hope, for the last two month he had been telling himself that John was dead and that he had to deal with it. He had come here and buried himself in work to forget. It had worked, the pain hadn't become less, but after a few weeks, Rodney had stopped feeling the sting. Now it all came rushing back at him. What was he going to do if he returned to Yamin and had to face John's dead body. Would he just be able to return and pretend continue as before? He had never thought of John as dead before. While he had forbidden himself to hope for John's return into his life, he had closed himself off to all thought about him. It had come to the point where his mind refused to gone back to anything that was remotely connected to what had happened on Yamin a little over two months ago. Dr. Heightmeyer had sensed that he was not willing to really deal with the events and had warned him that denying what had happened and shutting himself off were not going to help him cope with the trauma he had lived through.

But it had been the only way Rodney knew how to deal with both his loss and the demons of his own experience. He could not fight his feelings, so burying them was the only solution he could find.

* * *

When they stepped through the Gate on Yamin, they were already awaited. Wam Vter and a small group a ministerial security were waiting for them at the busy interstellar travel terminal from which multiple times a day guests or cargo were received or travellers left for other worlds. The first time he had stepped into the impressive hall, Rodney had been fascinated by the immense construction of glass and steel that encompassed that Gate and processed travellers and cargo day and night. It had been like stepping into the future.

Today Rodney was blind to the marvels of Fiatyn, the capital city of the South Kintarin continent. From the moment he had set foot on Atlantis again after his return form M5X-209, he had felt deeply unsettled. Something was wrong. Now that they had arrived back on Yamin, his nerves were vibrating with tension. It seemed like yesterday that he had left the planet in a state of shock. Like a day and a night had passed and nothing had changed, he hadn't even begun to heal, he realized now.

Wam Vter turned to the group wearing a grin so broad that it looked most insincere.

"Dr. Weir. It is a pleasure to welcome you back to Yamin. It had been too long that our people have met. It is very unfortunate that our last meeting had to end under such unfortunate circumstances. But now that we have put our differences aside, it is our hope that we may enter in a new round of negotiations with the people of Atlantis. I speak of all of Ymanhin when I say that the alliance with the Atlantians has been a most gratifying one and we only wish that many more years of fruitful..."

"The message we received said that you had good news about our missing colleagues." Elizabeth interrupted the overenthusiastic liaison officer.

"Oh that. Yes, the task force investigating the attack has found your people. Come with me to the shuttle. The pilot will already be waiting for us. I shall explain on the way." Wam Vter gestured vaguely towards the exit and led the way. The Atlantians and the security guards followed him.

The streets of Fiatyn were reserved for the pedestrians. Those who wanted to move faster had to take the Ymanhin version of the subway. Important people, such as guests of the government used shuttles to fly across the vast city.

Rodney felt a dull ache when he recalled John's barely contained excitement when they had flown across the futurist city for the first time. He had been fascinated by the shuttles of the Ymanhin. 'Almost as cool as a Puddle Jumper', he had said. Rodney shook his head to chase away to unbidden memory.

"What can you tell us?" Elizabeth circled back to her earlier question since Wam Vter had not picked up the topic again since they had taken off.

"A few weeks ago, we received a message from an undercover agent working inside the terrorist organization that we had suspected was responsible for the attack on the foreign ministry two months ago. About a week ago our military force achieved a deciding strike against the extremist group Denebria. The members of Denebria take exception to our trade with off-worlders and our exploration of foreign worlds. They hold that it has done us more harm than good. What they are overlooking is that we ourselves came to this world through the Stargate and without it we would never have achieved the level of development which we have now. We were unable to apprehend the leader of the group, a man named Turan, according to our latest information, but in a raid on several buildings, the military managed to apprehend over twenty suspected members. One of them cooperated with us and led us to the building where your people were being held."

"Where are they now?" Rodney inquired impatiently.

"The Fiatyn Medical Centre. They were found in stasis chambers and brought to the medical centre for evaluation." Wam Vter explained.

"But how are they?" Rodney was getting desperate. Wam Vter was saying as much as possible while giving them as little information as possible about John and Carson.

"You will be meeting Velig in a short while. She is an experienced healer and is in charge of the case of your people. She will be able to tell you more." Wan Vter said without a trace of apology.

"Thank you for informing us so promptly." Elizabeth intervened, sensing that Rodney was about to say something else.

* * *

The pilot sat them down smoothly on the roof of the Fiatyn Medical Centre. Rodney was both itching to finally find out how John and Carson were doing and feeling apprehensive to confront to truth. He didn't think he could deal with it if John was not going to be all right.

Ever since his arrival on Yamin, his instincts were screaming at him to get away from here. He didn't trust the Ymanhin. Something about what Wam Vter had told them at had struck him. He didn't quite know what yet, but he was going to find out.

They descended from the shuttle. Wam Vter guided them into the building. An elderly woman was already waiting for them at the entrance.

"Greetings." She bowed slightly in their general direction. „My name is Velig. You must be the Atlantians. Wam Vter has informed me of your arrival. It is an honour to meet you."

Elizabeth returned the Ymanhin greeting and bowed as well.

"It is an honour to meet you as well, Velig. We have been told that you can tell us more about our people."

"Oh yes." Velig replied. "Please come with me. I shall explain what we know." She started to walk down the corridor at a pace that Rodney would not have expected from a woman her age.

While she was walking, she spoke without waiting for the Atlantians to catch up with her.

"The two of your people were apparently found in stasis units. We have determined that they were in suspended animation for approximately two months."

"That's like all the time they have been gone." Aiden remarked.

Velig ignored him.

"Your people..."

"They have names. They are called John Sheppard and Carson Beckett." Rodney said icily, interrupting Velig.

"All right, John Sheppard and Carson Beckett suffered injuries prior to being put in suspended animation. We have started treating these injuries now." Velig wanted to go on, but this time it was Elizabeth who interrupted her.

"Thank you for providing treatment, we appreciate that. But we would like to have one of our doctors, healers present, merely to observe. Also, we'd like that know the nature of their injuries. We still don't know what exactly happened."

For a moment, Velig looked less than pleased, but then got her features back under control.

"Sure, if you wish to have a healer of yours to assist then that will be no problem. But I assure you that we have the situation well under control. Your people, John Sheppard and Carson Beckett, are not in danger of dying at the moment. There are observation facilities from which you will all be able to observe the treatment procedures." Velig offered.

The corridor led into a hall with windows to one side of it. But the windows didn't offer a view of the outside but allowed anyone looking through to see into the room one level down. Velig noticed the questioning expressions on their faces.

"From here, you will be able to observe the treatment of your friends. Who of you will be coming with me to observe directly?" She asked.

Dr. Alley came forward.

"Come with me." Velig said to him. Turning to the others, she said, "One of my assistants will be with you shortly, if you have any questions."

She quickly left, Dr. Alley trailing behind her, leaving them behind in the observation room. Only now it occurred to Rodney that she still had not answered their questions.

_TBC_


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer see Prologue

Chapter 3

* * *

Dr. Alley followed Velig down a flight of stairs. They entered a small room.

"These are my assistants. Also two very qualified healers, Kwarom and Rujven. They will be working with me today."

The two men bowed in the traditional Ymanhin greeting. Dr. Alley returned the greeting, not sure what else was expected of him.

"It is a pleasure to meet you." he said.

"We are always pleased to have guests." Kwarom replied with a smile.

Velig handed a bundle of clothes over to him.

"You can change into these in the room over there."

Dr. Alley did as he was asked. He dressed in the Ymanhin versions of scrubs, a tunic like blue clothing, like Velig and her assistants were wearing. He stepped out of the changing room and the other three healers were already waiting for him.

"It's this way." Velig gestured towards a corridor branching off to their left.

Dr. Alley followed the Ymanhin through a blue-ish force field that separated the corridor from the room. He could feel the burn on his skin as he walked through it.

Velig answered his unspoken question.

"The field is used for disinfection. We will pass more on our way to the treatment suite. I;m sure you use means of disinfection as well."

"Of course we do. But we use chemical disinfectants. I'm curious as to how this disinfectant field works." Dr. Alley said.

"I'm sure something can be arranged with your engineers." Velig replied as they stepped into an open room. "Here we are." She indicated two gurneys at the far side of the room. On them were bulky constructions, reminiscent of Ancient Egyptian sarcophagi.

"They are in the process of being brought out of stasis. It's automated." She walked over to the gurneys and checked computerized panels giving the vital stats of the occupants.

"All is going well. They should be revived in fifteen minutes. We took the liberty of removing any foreign objects while they were still in stasis. This leads to far speedier recovery."

"Foreign objects?" Dr. Alley was puzzled.

"Yes, this one." Velig indicated one of the stasis chambers. They were closed, so Dr. Alley could not see which of his colleagues occupied it. "Had a bullet imbedded in his back. We removed it yesterday and temporarily fixed the wound with a web material that will decay naturally within the next few days."

Noting Dr. Alley's blank expression, she explained further. "It provides a support for the work of the nano bots and prevents most of the further blood loss when we revive him today. We used a similar technique in treating shrapnel injuries from the blast."

* * *

Rodney's tension was growing as he waited impatiently for something, anything to happen in the room below. Finally, after what had seemed like hours, Velig and another Ymanhin, followed by Dr. Alley were wheeling a gurney into the room. The body on it was covered by a light blue sheet, but the pale, almost milky white face virtually leapt up at him. John. He had not dared to hope to see this face again and yet it had haunted him in his dreams for the past two months.

John's face was still, mask like and unmoving. The beautiful features were marred by the signs of injury, purplish bruises shone through the pale skin on the left side of his face, a long cut traced from his right temple down to his jaw. The cut looked raw and open, but there was no blood, someone had cleaned up his face.

Rodney felt sick as he watched in horrid fascination as Carson was also brought into the room. He was in a similar state, sporting bruises and cuts to his face.

When Velig and Dr. Alley turned John over on his stomach. Rodney instinctively took a step back. Squarely on his back, was a wound, covered in an off-white fibre. Blood stained the edges of the fibre.

It came all rushing back at him. John collapsing to the ground, a bloodstain spreading over his back. Spreading far too fast. The helplessness over not being able to do anything to stop it. The feeling of the warm sticky substance on his hand. Then the explosion and the wall coming down.

Rodney tumbled backwards and stormed from the room. He could not do it anymore, watching was too much. The stark images of John's injured body brought back the memories he had sought so hard to bury. Rodney leaned against the next wall and sank to the floor, back against the wall. Head in his hand, he tried to get his breathing under control. John was going to be all right, he told himself. He and Carson were going to be all right and soon they would be able to leave this planet, never to go back again. Things would be the way they used to be. A small voice inside his head warned him, that there was something wrong, that things would not be all right, but he ignored it, too emotionally exhausted to care.

* * *

Two hours later, the healers had finished their job. Carson and John were resting in a room in the medical centre, their injuries treated as far as possible. More work was left to the nano bots that were used extensively by the Ymanhin healers to repair injuries quickly.

"Is there anything else I should know?" Dr. Alley asked Velig and her assistants as they were finishing up.

"You know most already, the shrapnel injuries and the gunshot injury were the most serious wounds. Both have suffered concussions, but luckily not more severe head injuries. We'll let the concussions heal on their own. The nano bots in their blood will speed up the process a bit and the pain medication I've given them will leave them in not too much discomfort. You should be able to take them back to your planet in a few days." Velig answered his question.

Dr. Alley nodded, glad at the good news. His initial impression of the Ymanhin healer hadn't been too good, but now working with her, had been a rather positive experience. She seemed to know what she was doing and the advanced medical technology was truly a blessing. The gunshot wound that Major Sheppard had suffered to the back could have been very problematic had he been in the Atlantis infirmary, not the mention the large blast fragment that had struck Dr. Beckett in the lower abdomen. If he wouldn't have bled to death on Atlantis, he would have had a least a lengthy and painful recovery, but thanks to their allies, both men would be mobile again within a few days.

Lost in thought, he lingered before following Rujven and Kwarom back down the corridor they had come from. Before walking through the blue disinfecting field he hesitated for a moment, idly wondering how the technology behind it worked. That was when he heard Rujven and Kwarom talking.

"Remember to tell the Atlantian about their memory, otherwise they are going to get suspicious right away."

"I will, but back me up. You think they are up to it?"

"Sure. Velig is one of the best."

Once they were silent again, Dr. Alley stepped through the blue field, the buzzing sound announcing his arrival.

Rujven turned to him, smiling.

"Dr. Alley, one more thing that I forgot to mention earlier. The long stasis period sometimes causes memory loss in the first few days. It could take your men a few days to get their memories back in order. Don't be alarmed if that happens."

"No. Thank you for telling me." Dr. Alley returned to smile, wondering what the two aliens had meant in their earlier conversation and what their reason was for lying to him. What were they hiding? What reason did they have to hide something? There was nothing they had to gain from Atlantis that they couldn't get.

* * *

"Are you all right?" A female voice intruded on his dark thoughts.

Rodney looked up and saw a Ymanhin woman dressed in a style similar to Velig standing above him.

"You must be one of the Atlantians. Are you worried about your friends?" She asked sweetly.

Rodney nodded.

"I understand, but you need not be. Velig is an excellent healer and the prospects of recovery from your friends' injuries are good. But it must have been hard not having known for such a long time." She said.

Rodney took a closer look at her for the first time.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Gotria, I was with your group when you were observing the procedure. When you suddenly left, I followed you. I wanted to give some time, but I was concerned that something was wrong."

"That's nice of you." Rodney found himself saying, too worn out to even snark at the girl. "But I don't need any help, I'm all right. It has just been a long day." He scrambled to his feet.

"It's this way." Gotria held him by the arm, pointing him in the direction he had come from.

"Thank you." Rodney said, not really meaning it. He felt tired beyond belief. He needed a coffee. Was there coffee on Yamin? Considering his luck, there probably wasn't. Another one of these damn tea planets.

As soon as Gotria was out of sight, Rodney walked into the opposite direction. Following the exit signs, he reached the outside of the building fairly quickly. From there to the next underground transports station, it was literally only a few steps. Rodney had a plan. His inner suspicion would not rest until he had more information about what had happened. Ever since his arrival, something had felt odd. Velig, Wam Vter, they all had said a lot and at the same time had told him nothing. Now he was going back. Wam Vter had said he was there to answer their questions while they were on the planet. The sun was still well up in the sky, and even though Rodney had no idea what the local time was, he was sure that Wam Vter was still in his office.

The subway car softly set into motion and Rodney relaxed a bit, for the first time since leaving the medical centre. He wasn't sure what he was doing himself. It wasn't anything tangible that he was after, more like a phantom that haunted his own memories, made manifest by his suspicions which continued to be fuelled by the strange behaviour by everyone around him. He didn't trust Wam Vter, but he was his only port of call on this world, he had access to information, to reports about the attack and the investigation into it. If Rodney had any chance of getting closer to the truth, whatever it was, he had to go through the Ymanhin liaison officer.

Rodney was lost in thought as the subway car moved through the city, which was far from dead underground. Not blessed with a big landmass, the Ymanhin had populated every inhabitable square mile of land, stretching high into the sky, as well as under the ground.

Rodney nearly missed the stop in the ministerial district, which was where Wam Vter's office was. The car stopped and he left the subway. Climbing the stairs up to the surface, he caught a familiar face out of the corner of his eye. The blue tinged face and the slanted eyes looked familiar, triggering his memory. The face struck something in him, but the synapses fired into nothing. He turned to get a closer look, but she was gone. He shook his head and proceeded to the surface. A minute later he had forgotten to odd encounter and was trying to find the foreign ministry, a building which he had never visited by foot, always by shuttle. As he made his way through the busy streets that were owned by the pedestrians, he was aware of the looks he was drawing. His hair and skin colour were immediately identifying him as a foreigner.

* * *

"There you go. I said you'd be walking out of here on the leg. Come back if it still hurts in two days." Deakon injected some of his home-made pain killer into his patient's outstretched arm.

"You are good the go. Payment as discussed. Close the door on your way out." The man rolled his partially torn sleeve back down and handed a paper bag to Deakon. Deakon took a quick look at the contents, and then nodded. His patient looked relieved, then hastily limped towards the dented metal door that led outside.

The metal door slammed shut. Deakon leaned back and relaxed. Amber light flooded in through the window. He opened the paper back that his last patient had left behind. A bottle of fruit juice, siyih. Siyih was very rich in vitamins, a rare item here on Shukur.

He shouldn't be here, Deakon thought. He had never claimed that he was innocent. Those five patients did die, there was no denying that. But Deakon thought of himself as merely ahead of his time, not as a criminal that belonged on a prison planet - moon, he corrected himself - for the rest of his life. Deakon knew success. Before he had convicted and sentenced to life on Shukur , he had been a highly respected healer, heralded for his spectacular results even in severe cases. He had pioneered several new approaches to treating common ailments more effectively. It had been his inventive methods that had broken his neck in the end when patients had started to die. An unfortunate mistake.

Banging and screaming on the metal door caught at his attention.

"Deakon, Deakon, open up!" A ragged voice he didn't know demanded from outside.

Deakon wondered who it might be, he had seen his last patient for the day, unless there had been some emergency. With the many gang wars that raged on Shukur, there were often emergencies during the night. Reluctantly, he moved towards the door.

"Deakon! Hurry up, it's getting heavy outside here!" The voice was back, more angry this time.

Deakon quickly unlocked the door, carefully sliding it open an inch.

"You Deakon?" A rough looking man, matching his voice was standing in front of his door. Four others were with him, carrying two crates shaped like coffins. Deakon felt for his side arm.

"Yes, I'm Deakon." He answered wondering who didn't know him. Everyone in five sectors knew him. Not that his reputation was always a good one.

"We have a delivery for you." The man in charge motioned in the coffin like crates. "Open up."

"I'm not an undertaker. Burry your dead yourself or throw them down a ditch like everyone else around here, I don't care." He shouted.

"They're not dead, they are live ones and they're for you." The man, at least twice the weight of Deakon, leaned against the door from the outside, pushing Deakon back inside. The other four men with the crates followed, setting them down in the main room, with a stunned Deakon looking on.

Inside one of the crates, something started to beep alarmingly.

TBC


	5. Chapter 4

"Please, sit down." Wam Vter motioned at the chair and smiled invitingly.

Rodney had found the ministry of foreign affairs without further problems. He had imagined that there would still be traces of the destruction that had happened only two months ago, but the building was perfectly restored, the sun casting off the immaculate glass facades.

Nobody had stopped him from entering the building. He had simply walked up to what had looked like the front desk and asked the lady behind it to see Wam Vter. He had wondered what she might be thinking behind her prefect smile that never wavered as she asked him for his name and the reason for his visit. One look at him must have told her that he was an alien, yet she had not blinked. Had tolerance and intercultural understanding advanced to such a point here that aliens in broad daylight didn't even elicit suspicious gazes anymore? Rodney couldn't help feeling like people were playing games with him; everyone was having a copy of the script, except for him.

"Are you all right?" Wam Vter asked and Rodney realized that he hadn't answered the man's earlier question.

"Yes, I'm all right. We just have some more questions about what happened to our co-workers." Rodney tried to sound official and hide the emotional tension that he felt. Wam Vter had to think that Elizabeth had sent him here.

"I understand, what do you want to know?" To Rodney's surprise Wam Vter gave himself open to questions.

"Under what circumstances exactly where they found? What do you know about what happened to them? You said something about getting a tip from an insider?" Rodney went through the list of questions that had been going through his mind ever since their arrival on the planet. He didn't know what the question was that he needed to ask to get the answers he was looking for.

"I understand your need for answers; however there is much we still don't know ourselves. The case is still under investigation. Although we successfully raided several facilities that were used by Denebria in the past, we only apprehended about twenty suspected members."

"Yes, you have told us that already." Rodney replied, making his best effort to show patience.

"To be honest with you, we had little success in proving criminal involvement of most of these people. There is no proof of any direct involvement in the attack. These people are low level members who distribute leaflet, hold hate-speeches and donate money to Denebria, the real terrorists are unfortunately still at large."

"So they are just going to go free?" Rodney asked angrily.

"Our society is far from perfect, Dr. McKay. Violence and dissent are problems that we have been dealing with for millennia. There are no simple solutions as you probably know from your own society."

Rodney had to agree. Crime and terrorism were no strangers to Earth.

"We have a few descriptions of key figures within Denebria. Turan, the presumed current leader of the group has been sought for, for almost two decades by now. We are not giving up looking for these men."

"What happens when you find them?"

"They will be evaluated and charged for their crimes as far as they can be proven. If the attackers were found they would probably be faced with exile for life."

"Exile?"

"On Shukur, a penal colony. We found this to be an effective system for criminals that are beyond rehabilitation." Wam Vter explained.

"But that's all just speculative. There is no trace of the real attackers." Rodney said dejectedly.

"Not quite. There is one lead. We have a man on the inside. Communications have been somewhat difficult, but he could be the key to a deciding strike against Denebria. It was his information that gave the confirmation that Denebria was the group responsible and that lead the arrest of those twenty members in the first place. We have been out of contact with him for a while, but he must have infiltrated the organization quite successfully, he was present where your co-workers were held." Wam Vter said off-handedly.

"What! And you didn't mention this sooner. We would have appreciated knowing about this. Any news about our friends would have been welcome. Instead you let us be in the dark..."

"Calm down, Dr. McKay. What would that knowledge have served you. Besides I only received this report a week before contacting you. At this point, your friends had not yet been found. All the report would have brought you was more uncertainty."

Rodney was livid. A week. They could have known that John and Carson were out there, probably alive had Wam Vter not been withholding information from them. He was ready to lash out at the liaison officer but in the last second remembered to control his tongue. He wanted, needed to read that report. Yelling and name calling, what he felt like doing at the moment, would not get him there.

"That is definitely good news. What did he observe?"

Rodney tried to sound as detached as possible. He wasn't sure whether Wam Vter was buying the act. Worse, he wasn't sure whether it mattered, whether Wam Vter bought his act and this was just a game.

"Nothing that is going to help you much. You can read the report if you like. If you want to read it, it is not pleasant in some parts."

"No, that's all right. I want to know the details."

* * *

Dr. Alley and Velig rejoined Elizabeth, Teyla and Ford in the observation room. Dr. Alley had hoped that Velig would stay behind with her assistants, but she had accompanied him like a shadow the entire time.

They were greeted with smiles as they stepped into the room.

"How are they?" Ford asked before Elizabeth had the chance the say anything.

"Everything went well. They are still unconscious because we are keeping them sedated. The treatment can be very uncomfortable." Velig said. "But we will let them wake tomorrow if everything goes fine and I see no reason it should not go fine."

"That is very good news." Elizabeth replied with a smile. "Thank you for offering your services."

"It will take a while longer until they are fully recovered. But in a few days, they will be able to accompany you to your planet. Dr. Alley is a most knowledgeable healer, he will take good care of them when you are back on your world. Now, if you will excuse me. I have more patients to tend to. Gotria will guide you to the exit. Have a good stay on our world. I will surely see you tomorrow." Velig bowed and left quickly.

Gotria, the young woman, who had been observing the group from the background stepped forward and bowed.

"If you will please follow me, your shuttle is waiting, it will take you back to your accommodations."

Dr. Alley had just stretched out on his bed, relaxing for the first time in the day, when someone knocked on his door.

"Come in." He answered, praying to multiple deities that it was not Dr. McKay. The chief scientist was not his favourite person, and his extreme personal investment in this matter only served to aggravate his annoying personality traits.

The door opened and Elizabeth entered, followed by Teyla and Ford. Dr. Alley just stared. He had not expected half the senior staff of Atlantis the file into his temporary quarters just like that. He jumped up from the bed, straightening his uniform a bit.

"Good evening Dr. Weir, Lieutenant Ford, Miss Teyla"

"Good evening doctor." Elizabeth returned and took the only available chair, leaving Aiden and Teyla to stand.

"What…what can I do for you?" Dr. Alley fought hard not to stammer.

"I'm sorry for ganging up on you, but I think you have noticed that something is wrong here. I don't know what, but I'm going to find out." Elizabeth said.

"Nobody has given us any more information that they absolutely had to. This healer, Velig has not eve told us what is wrong with John and Carson. I was hoping you could help us out with that."

"Yes, I'm not sure I know everything, because bits of what I was told don't really fit with what we know."

Dr. Alley explained.

"Let's hear it."

"Apparently John was shot in the back by one of the attackers. That matches with what Rodney has described in his report. Carson was hit by a larger piece of shrapnel in the abdomen. You didn't see where he was hit, Dr. Weir, so we have nothing to verify that. Both of them have minor injuries from debris that was flying around during the blasts. What puzzles me is that none of them have typical blast injuries. They were close enough to the centre of the explosion to have received them. The shockwaves would have caused massive internal injuries. There were none."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Aiden asked.

"It's a good thing because they'd probably have bled to death right in the building; still it's a bit odd." Dr. Alley said.

"But they are going to by all right?"

"Yes, as far as I can tell with their medical technology. It's really amazing. What they can..." Dr. Alley was started to get carried away with fascination, but Elizabeth stopped him.

"About the blast injuries, is there no way they could not have sustained those injuries?"

"Well, it's possible. I would have to see the layout of the building and the exact spots were the bombs were placed, their blast radius and strength. Yes, it's not very likely, but possible. But there is something else I overheard, a bit of conversation between Velig's assistants. One of them said 'to tell us about their memory, otherwise we would get suspicious', then he told me that due to having been in stasis John and Carson could suffer some initial memory loss."

Elizabeth arched an eyebrow.

"I don't like the sound of that. But it's not enough to start accusing our allies of anything. We don't even know of what. It could be something harmless; they could just be embarrassed about their terrorist problem and trying to cover up now. We need to keep our eyes open. I don't want to do anything rash, the Ymanhin are valuable allies and I don't think the have malicious intentions. They traded us for a ZPM after all. "

* * *

Rodney's eyes flew over the report. He had always been grateful for his ability to read fast, and this was no exception. He skipped over the first bits which described lengthily the flight to and the location of a sort of chalet in the North Kintarin mountains. But still, he couldn't help but cringe when he imagined a hurt and bleeding John in the back of a shuttle. Had he been conscious? Rodney hoped to God that he hadn't. John had lost consciousness back when they had been attacked in the negotiations break and he had been shot in the back. It was a wonder he had not bled to death, Rodney thought as he read on. Two sentences later, he found the reason why.

_The other guard and I were ordered to perform first aid on the aliens._

With the Ymanhin advanced medicine, even first aid could make the difference between life and death even with serious wounds. Again Rodney skipped over passages that described the chalet and the people the guard, who went by the alias Sjel apparently encountered. He wasn't reading this to hunt for terrorists. He was gladly leaving that to the Ymanhin authorities. His interest was sparked again when the report turned back to John and Carson.

_We were ordered to bring them to the basement and tie them up securely. The chief guard Olyg verified our work and ordered us to remain guarding the door. Several hours later, he came back down to the basement and ordered me to bring one of the prisoners back up again. I did as ordered. Upstairs I brought him into a small room in the back of the house with boarded up windows. This room served as an interrogation room. Olyg and another man whom I had not seen before and whose name I did not learn asked me to remain in the room_.

Rodney read on, fearful of what he was going to read next.

_A female doctor woke the alien prisoner. She too stayed for the interrogation. The man leading the interrogation proceeded to ask systematically questions regarding a collaboration between, the people of the alien, called the Atlantians and our people. The alien denied any such thing. When the alien wasn't forthcoming, the interrogator resorted to threats and ordered me to beat the prisoner._

Anger welled up in Rodney. Just reading about what happened made him furious as never before. He realized that without 'Sjel', John would not have been found, but the thought of him having beaten John when he was already severely injured, inflamed a fire of fury in Rodney.

_When the alien was unconscious, I returned him to the basement. The other alien had also been interrogated and had been returned to the basement as well, as I was told by another guard. We were ordered by Olyg to stand guard in front of the door. About eight hours later, the female doctor, who had been present during the interrogation and the man conducting the interrogation came down to the basement and requested entrance. He accompanied them as ordered. Both the prisoners were unconscious and didn't offer resistance as the doctor examined them and treated their injuries. The interrogator ordered us guards to carry the prisoners outside where another shuttle had arrived in the meantime._

Rodney skipped over a long paragraph describing model and make of the shuttle. The terms meant nothing to him. His attention returned when the report turned back to John and Carson.

_The interior of the shuttle was outfitted with medical gear included two stasis units. I and the other guard went back inside the chalet once we had delivered the aliens to the shuttle._

That was it for the part of the report that interested him. What followed was a description of several days of activities at the chalet that amounted to removal of evidence and receiving a weapons shipment before the group left for another hide-out. This was where the report broke off.

Rodney had read enough to feel sick to his stomach. John and Carson had been interrogated and tortured at the hands at these bastards. He couldn't imagine how it must have been for them; they must have thought that they were going to die at the hands of these extremists. He had to see John. Suddenly, Rodney regretted his flight from the hospital. He should have been stronger for John. Instead he had run away because he couldn't bear to watch. John needed him to be there for him now.

His thought in a whirlwind, he handed the report back to Wam Vter and thanked him absentmindedly. He didn't pay any attention as he stumbled down the stairs to the entrance hall and out onto the street.

Night had fallen in the meantime. He had spent far longer at Wam Vter's office than it had felt to him. He hoped that Elizabeth and the others hadn't not'/iced his absence yet, but knew that this was unlikely.

His thoughts on John, Rodney walked through the darkened streets, until he paused, noticing that he had no idea where he was going or where the nearest subway station was. The subway station he had come from had been close to the ministerial building, but now he noticed that he must have been walking off in the wrong direction.

Rodney looked around for someone to ask for directions, when suddenly there was a noise behind him. He wanted to whirl around, but there was a sharp pain in his neck. Wasp sting! He thought instinctively and reached for his pocket, but before his hand reached it, he had fallen to the ground. The last thing he saw was a pair of boots before everything went black.

* * *

Deakon frantically ran and searched for something to pry open the crates. His eyes fell on the crowbar he kept handy near the door, not for his intended use, but a man needed a weapon on Shukur. It would do just fine.

Deakon pried open the crate as fast as he could, the cheap wood splintering off to the sides. Finally, he had loosened the top and one side of the crate and could see what it held. Inside was an old model stasis pod. A really old model stasis pod. The lights on the side panel were flashing red and orange. Deakon knelt down and examined the panel.

As expected the alarm coloured light indicated nothing good. The old models were from before his time, but the basic design had remained the same. At the press of a button, he shut off the deafening alarm. The lights continued to flash, indicating imminent power failure. Deakon punched the button to initiate the revival programme. The message on the tiny screen informed him that insufficient power was available to complete the revival programme. Deakon swore. He tried the patient scan programme next. This time the pod complied.

The results flashed over the screen.

_Failure of genetic analysis. Unknown species._

_Cannot analyse further._

The screen darkened for a moment and then flashed brightly.

_Power failing._

Deakon swore again. A fucking alien. He was going to be stuck with an alien, if it had survived the power failure of the stasis pod. Or maybe even two, he eyes the second crate suspiciously, but it had not yet emitted a sound.

Deakon slid open the covering of the dead stasis pod. He was face to face with an alien. It was male, had a pale face with a slightly pink-ish hue and dark hair. Deakon felt for a pulse. The skin under his fingers felt far rougher than his own. It was freezing to the touch, but there was a faint pulse. There was also something sticky on the back of the alien's neck. A dark red substance.

_tbc_


	6. Chapter 5

**_Vital Lies_**

**_Chapter 5

* * *

_**

Rodney was tired, so very tired. It couldn't be morning yet, but someone was shaking him, trying to get him to wake up.

"Just five more minutes." he mumbled, trying to turn away from the hands that had a firm grip on his shoulder.

When he couldn't move as much as an inch, something stirred in him. This was not right. This was not his bed. He wasn't lying on the reasonably soft mattress of his bed, he was on something hard and unyielding. His eyes flew open.

Nothing, he was seeing nothing. Panicking for real now, he tried to grope around with his hands, only to find them secured to a hard surface. Metal probably, his fingertips told him. He tried wriggling free only to discover that his entire body was tied to the solid metal object which judging by his position was probably a chair.

Rodney forced himself to calm his breathing. Panic wasn't going to help him now. It was easier said than done as his body threatened to tremble with fear when he suddenly heard a noise. He tried to focus on the sound, assessing from which direction it was coming. He couldn't tell for certain, but he had the impression that the sound was coming nearer to him. It sounded like muted footsteps. Like the ground was covered with something soft. The noise stopped without warning. Rodney waited for something. Pain, a voice, anything.

After what seemed like an eternity, a woman spoke.

"Dr. McKay. I apologize for the rude methods we had to employ in bringing you here. It is unfortunate but necessary." Her voice sounded familiar. Rodney was sure he had heard it before but he could not place it. She was definitely a Ymanhin. She spoke with the singsong quality in her voice that was typical of the people.

"What do you want with me?" Rodney asked, slightly reassured that he was not going to me an untimely end in the next five minutes.

"We have been watching you ever since you came back here. You have been searching around, asking questions. You don't believe what you are told."

"I never said that." Rodney defended himself. "I simply want to know what really happened to my friends."

"You are interested in the truth and so are we."

"Who are you?" Rodney asked, not really expecting to get an answer from the faceless voice.

"I trust you Dr. McKay." She didn't answer his question. What she said puzzled Rodney. Maybe he was right and they had met and she trusted him not to betray her. Right now however he couldn't think of a good reason not to. He was blindfolded and tied to a metal chair.

"You went to see Wam Vter earlier today. I assume he gave you 'Sjel's' report to read."

"Yes, how did you know?"

"The report is part of the story they made up to tell you."

"Why would they lie to us? What reason is there, why should I believe you?"

"Why did you get suspicious in the first place, why did you start asking questions?" she answered him with a question.

"Sjel really exists; he is working for KAIA and has been working inside Denebria for years. But everything else what Wam Vter has probably told you about him isn't true. I have seen the fake report. Sjel wasn't a guard working for Denebria. He started out as a simple guard, but over the last decade he has risen to a powerful cell leader inside the organization. He was major involved in planning the attack on the ministerial building."

"How do you know this and why are you telling me all this?" Rodney's internal alarm bells were ringing loudly. Assuming what the woman was telling him was true, by revealing her knowledge she was putting herself, him and potentially many others in danger. She had no reason to trust him, except if she was sure that he wasn't going to tell anyone afterwards. The thought sent a chill down Rodney's spine.

"How I know is not important. As I said, I trust you." The voice sounded reassured. "Shall we continue?"

Rodney nodded. He was slowly getting the feeling that he was on the choice less end in the situation and that it had nothing to do with being tied to a chair.

"After the attack, Sjel finally had proof to tie leading members of Denebria to a serious crime. Once they had gone back into hiding, he managed to contact KAIA send them a data packet containing a detailed report containing proof that Denebria was responsible for the attack and that leading members had planned and enabled it by purchasing weapons and explosives. He gave locations of hide-outs and weapons stashes. In a big raid, aided by the military the leaders of the four main cells, Sjel, Olyg, Uhiw and Turan were caught along with over a hundred associates. The mountains in North Kintarin are still being searched for members that fled and are hiding out there. They'll have to come down to the cities when the winter comes. We'll catch them then." The voice said not without pride.

"We. You are one of them. KAIA. Whatever that is. Probably like the CIA or the FBI." Rodney said, not caring that the woman had no idea what he was going on about. "But by telling me about all of this, you're committing treason." he said triumphantly.

There was silence in the room. Obviously she had not counted on making a mistake and Rodney picking up on it. Then there were footsteps again. At first they were coming closer, then they were moving further away. Suddenly, Rodney felt something touch the back of his head and the blindfold fell into his lap.

It was dim in the room. He couldn't see much at all. There was a small lamp at the ceiling, now windows. He could recognize the outline of a grey door on the wall in front of him, there were a few boxed stacked up high on the wall, he could see a bucket and several chairs in the corner to his right and a battered table in front of him. There was a thick manila envelope on the table, but with his hands bound he could not reach it. He turned his head to look for the woman whom he had been talking to all the time.

She was leaning on the wall behind him. Now Rodney knew where he had seen her before. In the royal palace. She had been the royal aide. Apparently there were traitors in high places. Rodney tried to think of her name, but it wouldn't come to mind. All these alien names. Since he had come to the planet, he must have met at least twenty new people. He had finally managed to get the names of all of his scientists straight; he didn't need an entire planet of blue faced aliens to memorize as well. Instead, he resorted to pointedly looking at his bound wrists.

The woman got the hint and moved over to him. From somewhere within her rather tight clothing she managed to produce a knife during the split second that Rodney was not looking. For a moment, Rodney considered his chances. He would probably be able to wield the knife from her, she was short and thin. He would probably get cut in the process, maybe even badly, but he was sure he'd get the knife before she had a chance to stab him.

As if reading his thoughts, she said:

"Don't Dr. McKay. We are not alone. There are others. I'm not a lone lunatic, despite what you may think."

She freed his wrists and Rodney let her without making a move for the knife. She handed him the envelope.

"I trust you will find this interesting reading material." she took the knife and headed for the door. Rodney was still looking at the envelope in his hands when he heard the heavy door close.

* * *

Elizabeth was pacing in the largest entrance hall she had ever seen. Her steps in the two story high, almost cavernous hall. Their accommodations were in a spacious villa in a suburb of Fiatyn. As Wam Vter had explained, the government frequently housed its guests there.

They were free to move around and leave the villa at any time, so technically Rodney was not breaking any rules by being out on his own. But Elizabeth was concerned. She had started out as angry, when Rodney had absconded from the hospital, but part of her had been understanding. He was closer friend to John than any of the others and being back on the planet must be triggering unpleasant memories for him. Elizabeth had assumed that he had returned to the villa earlier. When they had arrived and he had not been there, she had just been a little more concerned. Now that it was three in the morning, she was very concerned. It was not like Rodney to leave without a word and besides, he had nowhere to go in Fiatyn, and aside from the liaison officer they knew no one in the city.

For the at least twentieth time, Elizabeth walked over to the data terminal and punched in the equivalent to the liaison officer's phone number. So far she had been unable to reach him. This time, her luck changed and the screen came to life.

_Connection established._

A moment later, a young man appeared on the screen. It was obvious that he had been sleeping until a moment ago. He was blinking owlishly and his rose-tinted hair stood off wildly.

Elizabeth was slightly confused.

"My apologies for having woken you up. I wanted to speak to Wam Vter."

"Ah, you must be Dr. Weir?" The man straightened.

"Yes. And you are?"

"I'm Wam Vter's assistant, Xelig. How can I help you?"

"I would like to speak to Wam Vter." Elizabeth said firmly. She was not going to deal with underlings now.

"I can take a message." Xelig smiled.

Elizabeth suppressed a growl.

"Tell him that one of my team members is missing on your planet, and that I want a search, right now!"

Xelig paled visibly.

"Of course, I'll get Wam Vter right away."

Indeed, hardly two minutes later, Wam Vter appeared on the video screen, looking perfectly refreshed.

"Dr. Weir, my assistant just told me. That's horrible news. Who is missing?"

"Dr. McKay is missing since this afternoon. We haven't seen him since we left the medical centre." Elizabeth came to the point quickly.

"Oh. He came to me later that day. He had questions about what happened. From what he said, I assumed that you had sent him there in an official capacity."

"He was acting in our interests." Elizabeth quickly said. The last thing she needed now was Wam Vter questioning her leadership abilities. Mentally however she cursed Rodney for going off on his own.

"Did you know where he was going when he left?" Elizabeth asked, trying the approach the matter rationally.

"No, he didn't tell me." Wam Vter looked upset.

"What did you two talk about?" Elizabeth asked. She was curious what Rodney had believed that Wam Vter could tell him. She personally didn't trust Wam Vter to be truthful. He probably wouldn't lie, just omit a few details in the interest of his people. He was a politician and Elizabeth had dealt with a lot of politicians.

"I'll transmit you a copy of the documents that I gave Dr. McKay to read. They are reports regarding the captivity of your team mates. I'm afraid there isn't much information there. That's also what I told Dr. McKay. He still seemed upset." Wam Vter replied with a pinched face, as if he'd rather not have revealed the entire incident.

A light flashed next to the video screen informing Elizabeth that she had received a text message. She opted to print it, and then turned back to Wam Vter.

"I want a search for Dr. McKay. He wouldn't just disappear over night."

"Of course, I understand. I'll personally inform the police and provide them with all the necessary details. Rest assured Dr. Weir, they'll find him. I'll contact you as soon as I hear anything new. At the latest tomorrow morning. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate the contact me." Wam Vter bowed briefly, and then the screen blanked.

Elizabeth blinked. The attitude changed in Wam Vter surprised her. He hadn't been exactly a man of action before, but suddenly, he was moving everything to get Rodney found as soon as possible. And something about his reaction to the news had been off as well. It didn't fit with how he had behaved previously towards them. Maybe she had misjudged him, Elizabeth thought.

"Dr. Weir?" She heard Ford's voice from behind her. She turned around.

"How long have you been here?"

"Sorry. Long enough. At least they are doing something. What are we going to do now?"

Elizabeth thought for a moment. It was time that she made her move; she had waited long enough for everyone else to make theirs. This was a game. She didn't know the rules yet, but she was going to find out.

"Teyla, Dr. Alley and you are going to go to the medical centre. You're going to take Major Sheppard and Dr. Beckett back to Atlantis. Dr. Alley says they are over the worst and we can't trust the healers here."

* * *

Waking was like rising to the surface from the bottom of a deep pond. Slowly, he rose towards awareness and light. When he opened his eyes, it was to him as if he had slept for an eternity.

A circular cast of yellow light was on the low grey ceiling. The colour was peaceful, not too bright, just right. He didn't know where he was or how he had gotten there, but he felt safe, the light made him feel safe.

Suddenly, there was a face. How could he not have seen it come from the side? A blue face with two milky grey eyes looking down at him. The lips moved, but no sound came from them.

He frowned, this wasn't right.

"Chan eil mi gad chluinntinn!" he shouted the first thing that came to his mind. The lips moved faster and he felt a hand on his shoulder. He tried to get up, but his arms and legs were tied down to the bed frame.

"Leig mi air falbh!"

He struggled against his bounds, while the person whom he assumed to be his captor, stroked his arm soothingly.

""Leig mi air falbh, agus thig an latha a nì mi fabhar dhut airson do chairdeas."

tbc


	7. Chapter 6

_**Vital Lies **_

_**Chapter 6

* * *

**_

No one had questioned their presence so far. Aiden and Teyla had arrived at the Fiatyn Medical Centre just before dawn. The wide park area was deserted at this hour, but inside it was just as busy as when they had been there the previous day. They passed the reception desk without arousing any suspicions and were now trying to find their way back to John and Carson's room. As they had come from the landing pad on the roof of the building when they had been in the building for the first time, they were lost fast within the maze of corridors.

"We could simply ask someone?" Aiden considered.

"I don't think that would be wise. We might draw undue attention to ourselves." Teyla said in a hushed voice as two men passed by them; luckily neither as much as spared them a glance.

"We should try to retrace our steps. Go back to the top of this building and go down from there; I believe I can recall our path." Teyla proposed.

"You think you can do that?" Aiden questioned. He wasn't quite so sure this was going to work. The corridors in the medical centres were all painted in the same light yellow and seemed to continue for miles with unidentifiable doors left and right.

Aiden and Teyla followed the corridor until they came to the nearest staircase and climbed upwards to the top level and then stepped out into the corridor again.

"Look familiar?" Aiden asked. To him it looked no different than the previous corridor, and the one before and the one before that.

"I think so. Follow me." Teyla smiled confidently and led the way.

Aiden followed her and indeed after only a couple of turns, they stood in front of the room John and Carson had been brought to after treatment. They quickly looked around for any personnel in the area, but they were the only ones in the corridor. Teyla opened the door and they silently slid into the room.

In the dim light of the room, Aiden and Teyla stopped short immediately. One of the two beds in the spacious room was empty. It was unmade, someone had been lying in it recently, but at the moment, its occupant was missing.

"Damn." Aiden swore.

"Dr. Beckett is here." Teyla said from across the room. She had walked up to the other bed. "But he seems to be asleep."

"See if you can wake him."

Aiden didn't know what to do now. He thought the hard part would be getting into the medical centre without raising suspicion. That had been no problem. He had never considered that they might not find John and Carson in their room.

Teyla gently shook Carson.

"Dr. Beckett. You must wake up. It is important."

Carson groaned and opened his eyes. His eyes were unfocussed as he blinked slowly at her.

"Teyla?" he asked confused.

"Yes, Dr. Beckett. It is I."

"How…the guards?" Panic flashed over his face.

"The guards are gone. You were rescued." Teyla explained calmly. She put a reassuring hand on Carson's shoulder, but he shuddered away from the touch.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Beckett." Carson just looked at her absently, as if caught in memories. "Doctor, are you all right?"

Suddenly Carson moved to sit up. With his not yet completely healed injuries, it was not an easy task for him, but Teyla hesitated helped, not wanting to startle him again. Instead, she motioned for Aiden to join her.

"It's all right, doc. You're safe. We're going to get you back to Atlantis soon." Aiden reassured Carson who was looking around the room anxiously.

"Where are we? How--" He asked, as if only now registering their surroundings.

"That can wait until later. We have to leave now." Teyla urged.

"Do you think you can get up?" Aiden asked.

Carson didn't reply, but moved to shift towards the edge of the bed, only to bend over, hissing in pain a few moments later.

Teyla looked at him in alarm. He seemed to have paled a shade and breathed heavily with his eyes closed. It was going to be a long way back to the Stargate. Dr. Alley had given them medication, including painkillers to give their injured team mates in case it became necessary, but the doctor had also cautioned against it, as he couldn't predict interactions with any drugs that the Ymanhin healers might have used.

"Are you all right?" There was a pause before Carson replied through ground teeth.

"I think so. Shouldn't make sudden moves. They didn't like that either."

"Just take it slow. We'll take it at your pace." Aiden replied, shooting Teyla a questioning look regarding Carson's comment.

Suddenly, there were voices and footsteps audible from outside. A second later, the sound of the door opening had the three of them staring in its direction. Staring back was Velig, the healer they had met at the medical centre before. Behind her, she was trailing a gurney, followed by another healer that Ford and Teyla didn't know. Velig was the first to recover her ability to speak.

"Lieutenant Ford, Teyla." She bowed in greeting, polite as ever. "It is much unexpected to see you here at this hour. I assumed you would return in the morning to see your team mates." She and the other healer entered the room completely and closed the door behind them. It was now clear that the figure on the gurney was John.

"Dr. Weir sent us here. An urgent matter came up on our world. We need to take Major Sheppard and Dr. Beckett back with us to Atlantis." Teyla stated with authority.

"What has happened to Major Sheppard?" Aiden questioned before Velig had a chance to answer Teyla's question.

Velig's face twitched for a second, and then she recovered her prefect composure and smiled again.

"Major Sheppard suffered a minor complication. The wound to his back started bleeding again. Your species doesn't respond as well to our technology as we thought. He will be fine. But he won't wake up for at least the next two or three hours. He should stay on his side for the next few hours. I strongly recommend you wait until at least tomorrow before taking your people back to your world. It is in their best interest. They are no yet fit for the journey."

"I'm sorry, but we've got no choice." Aiden said.

"We value your advice, but the situation is beyond our control." Teyla tried to appease Velig. The last thing they needed was for things to escalate. The healers were not armed, but there were surely security personnel that could overwhelm them easily if Velig called for help. They could only hope that she wouldn't, in the interests of not endangering interplanetary relations. Unless of course, the game being played was an entirely different one altogether.

"Of course you are free to leave." Velig bowed again and left the room, followed by her assistant.

Aiden and Teyla shared a stunned look. That had been unexpected. But there was no time to be lost contemplating.

Velig and her assistant left the room, leaving Teyla and Aiden behind to wonder about the curious shift they had just witnessed in Velig's behaviour. Aiden didn't need to spell out that the healer's quick relenting was suspicious. Aiden had initially not been overly suspicious of Velig, but now he saw the other's assessment of her confirmed. At the moment there was not much he and Teyla could do, they would have to wait for John to wake up.

* * *

Rodney scanned the cover page. It was similar to the report that Wam Vter had shown him in the afternoon. The only difference he noted was the date; this report was dated almost three weeks earlier than the previous version. Eagerly he started to read. He wasn't paying much attention to the details of the planning phase of the attacks which was laid out in great detail until a phrase caught his eye.

'_Target#2 had been classified as the greater threat. Video material taken from previous negotiations showed him carrying at least one small hand fire weapon at all times. Computer simulations in which Target #2 achieved firing his weapon frequently resulted in casualties and in 34 of simulated outcomes, failure of the mission. Incapacitating Target #2 by non-fatal shot injury reduced the failure rates of simulated outcomes to 16. Further improvement expected upon use of explosives deployment. This concludes content of strategic meeting of…'_

Rodney leaned back. Target #2, they had never wanted all of them. It hadn't been about them being from a different planet. Wam Vter had told him that Denebria was made up of a bunch of xenophobic extremists. Rodney had figured that they had only grabbed John and Carson because they had been convenient and the least resisting in the chaos of the collapsing building. But they had been focussed on from the start. Why? Why them and not anyone else. If they wanted to know about Atlantis, Elizabeth would have been a better choice, she had no combat training and the terrorist could expect to get her to talk much more easily than John. Why Carson? Atlantis had no medical technology to offer to the Ymanhin. They had everything the Atlanteans could only dream of. Sure, Carson would probably talk sooner than John, but he knew less than the Major did. It didn't make any sense.

Rodney flipped back the pages, reading more closely this time, trying to find the point where the two 'targets' were mentioned for the first time. It took him over an hour before he found the paragraph. It was disappointing.

'_Via the network satellite, we received a coded transmission with the target information.'_

Following this was a detailed recount of the information 'Sjel' had received. Rodney read over it and couldn't believe his eyes. Not even he knew some of the details that had been known to the terrorists. Especially the part about John's training in the air force. It didn't make sense. Would the information even mean anything to the Ymanhin? Carson's training was reported in similar detail.

That could only mean that someone on Atlantis was working with them. Rodney shook his head, as if too clear that thought, but it was the only conclusion he could draw. None of the Ymanhin had been to Atlantis. They had been eager to initiate an exchange, but Elizabeth had delayed them. Now Rodney realized that maybe she too had held more reservations than she had openly shown. He trusted all of his team. Really? He forced himself to think about the question. He hadn't known them for such a long them. He trusted himself to know John well enough not to betray the expedition. But could he really tell about the others? Human beings were incalculable by their nature and Rodney had had his share of nasty surprises.

He took a breath. All the speculation wasn't helping him any. He didn't now enough yet to figure out the problem. There were too many unknowns. He turned back to his only source of information, 'Sjel's' report. He skipped larger bits until he was back at the day of the attack again.

'_I lead the way to the landing deck, when an unscheduled detonation went off at close proximity. I didn't immediately notice that the structure of the corridor was affected and started to collapse, endangering our exit. As soon as I became aware of the situation, I gave the signal to abort the operation, grab the targets and head for the shuttle. The mission was a success, with a single casualty. Tragos was trapped in the collapsing corridor.'_

Rodney shuddered.

* * *

The body was dropped down into the shallow grave with a thump, raising a small cloud of dust. Deakon sneezed and started shovelling the pile of stony dirt back on the body. He didn't know why he was even bothering. It was much more than he owed to the alien that had just been dumped on his doorstep.

Deakon wiped his forehead, not doing much except to smear the dust coating him, sweating under the heavy glare of the late morning sun. He grabbed his shovel, trying to dust off his clothes before heading back to the low concrete building that was his home. He hurried across the field of sand and stones, towards the dirt road. Being away from home was bad for business.

But when he reached his house, no new patients were waiting in front of his door. Another day was off to a slow start. Deakon unlocked the door and slipped inside. Cool air welcomed him. He sat down at the table, wondering what to do with the alien still in his back room.

TBC


	8. Chapter 7

_**Vital Lies**_

_**Chapter 7

* * *

**_

The sun rose outside as Teyla and Aiden waited. Carson had drifted off again into an exhausted sleep. Teyla sat at his bedside, carried off in a world of her own thoughts, when he woke again.

"Ah, thank God. You're still here, Teyla." Carson whispered, sounding almost overcome by emotion.

"Of course I'm still here." Teyla smiled and turned to Carson.

"I wasn't so sure." Carson said as way of explanation. When Teyla looked at him puzzled, he explained.

"Waking up. I wasn't so sure it was real." he shook his head.

"It is real Dr. Beckett. You're safe now." Teyla reassured him.

"I was expecting my infirmary. Are we still on Yamin?"

"We're in Fiatyn. But we're going back to Atlantis as soon as Major Sheppard wakes up."

"How is he?"

"The healers here say that he will be fine. You both will be fine. He should be waking up soon."

"I didn't think..." Carson trailed off, wrapping his arms around himself. He looked over to John, who was still lying in bed unmoving.

A few minutes later John started to stir. Aiden and Teyla were immediately by his side, anxiously waiting for him to return to consciousness. "Major Sheppard?" Aiden tried and was rewarded by a groan.

"Stay still, don't try to move yet." He cautioned remembering Velig's words, as John tried to roll onto his back.

Sheppard's eyes stayed closed, but some of Aiden's words must have filtered through as he stopped his efforts to roll over. Instead, he reached out a trembling hand towards his head, as if feeling whether it was still there, firmly attached to his neck.

"Ford?" John's eyes slid open for a moment before shutting again.

"Yes, sir." Aiden smiled brightly.

"What's going on?" Aiden wasn't sure what to say.

"You were rescued, but you're injured." Teyla jumped in.

"No shit." John rolled onto his back and opened his eyes to look at his two team mates.

"The others?" John asked.

Beckett is just over there, he woke up a few hours earlier than you did. Elizabeth and Rodney are busy on the planet." Aiden said evasively.

John was just about to comment when Teyla spoke again.

"We have to leave here as soon as possible, major. It may not be safe to stay here. Dr. Weir ordered us to get you and Dr. Beckett and to return to Atlantis as soon as possible."

John shook his head. "This is all wrong. What's really going on here?" he asked sharply.

"We will explain back on Atlantis, but we cannot trust these people here. Please."

John was more than confused. He had never expected to wake up again after the guard had put that gun to the back of his head. Although he had never heard the shot fired, nor felt the bullet pierce his skulls; he had assumed that it was game over for him. Waking up with his head intact had been a big surprise. His body ached fiercely, especially his back seemed to be on slow burn, but all in all, he felt a lot better than he would have expected given the still fragmented memories of what had happened after all hell had broken loose during the negotiations.

John was glad to have woken up to familiar faces, although he really wished Rodney would have been there for him to see that he was really all right, but Teyla's and Ford's urgency and secrecy was making him suspicious. There was too much in his memories, images that he couldn't even place yet, that could be explained away with a simple _'you were rescued'_.

* * *

Rodney had read enough, yet he could not stop reading. This report, while basically describing the same events as the report Wam Vter had given him to read earlier, was much more detailed, describing ruthlessly how his friends had been mistreated and interrogated by the Denebria extremists. It was nearly morning when Rodney had finished reading through the torturous description of the interrogations that Sjel had mandated in detail. Rodney hadn't been there, but just reading the cold recount of events had brought scenes to life in his mind, scenes that had horrified him.

_During dinner, Olyg had the idea to offer Target #2 some water, as a gesture of our good will. He had not asked for any, but with the questioning lasting since morning, and the fever from his injuries, he would be thirsty. I had Uhiw prepare two bottles of water for me, one with salt, one without. I ordered Olyg to return to Target #1 and continue with him while I continued with Target #2._

_Kiryl continued to question Target #2 in my absence without success. Although physically weakened, he refused to answer our questions. He had not taken up Kiryl's offer of basic treatment of his injuries in exchange for information. When I offered him water, he was briefly hesitant as I had expected, but then drank from the bottle. _

_I had planned on continuing the interrogation all night, but a communiqué from head 657 informing us that our information collected so far from the targets had been confirmed and was sufficient. The targets were to be disposed of and all evidence destroyed. I sent a message to Turan informing him that we were ready to proceed to stage three._

_I ordered the aliens to be secured into the basement. Kiryl was preparing two stasis pods from the shuttle crafts on my orders. I wiped the computer systems, backing them up on a data chip beforehand. After all evidence was removed, Olyg and I went down to the basement to kill the prisoners. With Olyg as a witness that the prisoners were eliminated, I placed them into the stasis units that Kiryl had prepared._

Rodney closed his eyes and shut the file. It wasn't real; John and Carson were not dead. It couldn't be real. He had seen them both at the medical centre! They were just trying to mess with his head. Why else would the woman have him read the report? Rodney asked himself not for the first time, if he could still trust anyone. He didn't want any of what the report detailed to be true. No one deserved to go through that. Not John, not Carson. But they just couldn't be dead. If they had been put into stasis just after their hearts stopped, maybe it was possible that the Ymanhin healers had revived them. Rodney wanted that possibility to be true more than anything in a very long time. He didn't care about who was a traitor on Yamin or whether Wam Vter was telling Elizabeth the truth or not, as long as John and Carson were alive. He didn't care about the Ymanhin's business, but Elizabeth needed to know about it. If there was even the slightest possibilities that someone on Atlantis was working with Denebria, Elizabeth needed to investigate anyone who had ever been on a mission to Yamin.

Rodney got up and paced. Despite the sleepless night he was feeling wired, his thoughts racing, exploring possibilities, weighing odds, trying to pull together fragments together. As long as he was thinking, calculating and constructing scenarios, he could put off his feelings for a while longer.

In the middle of the third impossible scenario, the door opened, and the woman from the previous night entered. "Dr. McKay, I trust you have read the report." She walked up to him.

"Is it a report or spy thriller?" He asked coldly.

"Sjel would not lie on his report. It is what really happened."

"How do you know? He doesn't seem to be quite the gentleman when it comes to murder and torture."

"Believe what you want, Dr. McKay, It is the truth. Sjel did what he had to do to protect his cover."

"What about the people he tortured and murdered?" Rodney yelled, his pent up worry transforming into anger.

"Unfortunate sacrifices. Without them and his work, Denebria would still be there, to torture and kill more people in the future." She argued calmly.

"Then what do you expect from me?"

"Find the truth, nothing else. This concerns your people as well." She referred to the wealth of information that the extremists had had available about the Atlanteans, suggesting that they had a traitor in their midst.

"We'll do that."

"That's all we ask. That's why we showed you the report. We want the truth to be known. You have a right to know that you are being lied to."

"I appreciate it." Rodney said not sure if he meant it. He paused then asked what had been on his mind ever since finishing the report. "Why would Sjel kill them and then put them in stasis?"

"To save them. Sjel isn't a murderer and they are important witnesses, they could testify against Uhiw, Kyril and Olyg. If there was a chance that he could spare their lives, then he would have done it. I worked with Sjel twenty-five years ago just before he went undercover to join Denebria. We were--" Rumbling, crashing, and shouting voices from somewhere above interrupted her.

"Quickly!" She grabbed Rodney by the wrist and dragged him towards the door as the noise from above grew louder. Rodney couldn't hear what was being yelled. Two gunshots rang out above as they ran out into a narrow dark corridor. Suddenly, a beam of a flashlight was dancing crazily between them, blinding them.

"Stop! Don't move! You're under arrest!" A male voice yelled and a gunshot exploded directly above them.

* * *

Elizabeth stirred a cup of Ymanhin tea. She hated the passivity of remaining at the villa while waiting for news from Wam Vter, but she was sadly used to waiting while the action took place elsewhere. The situation reminded her of the murky uncertainty that settled over her every time one of the teams was delayed in returning from a mission. Aiden and Teyla were on there own, she would not know whether they were successful in their mission to retrieve John and Carson and return to Atlantis. They shouldn't run into any problems, but Elizabeth had come to always expect the worst, that way, she was ready for anything. She had found that in dealing with most of the races they'd encountered in the Pegasus galaxy, it was the best policy. She wanted to believe that the Ymanhin were different, that they, like the Athosians were to be taken at face value and were trust worthy allies in the fight against the Wraith. Bit by bit doubt had started to accumulate.

The communication screen beeped. Elizabeth answered instantly. As expected, it was Wam Vter with his promised update. Rodney had been found, but the news was not good.

"Dr. McKay is currently in being held by KAIA. He was arrested in a raid early this morning. They've only just contacted us, when they found out who he was."

"I need more details. What kind of raid and why is Dr. McKay being held?"

"A group of KAIA agents raided a suspected meeting point of Denebria sympathists. They found stolen government documents and weapons. The building has been under surveillance for quite some time apparently in an internal KAIA investigation of an information leak."

"I'll ask you again, why is Dr. McKay being held?"

"He was in the company of a traitor and terrorist supporter and there is evidence that he has had insight into stolen government documents. So I'm told."

"This proves nothing. He hasn't even been charged with anything? I want to know the details, all of them and I want to talk to Dr. McKay and hear what happen from him."

"I don't know any more than I have told you." Wam Vter quickly said. "You will have to talk to the chief investigating agent at KAIA, but I don't know whether this can be arranged for you. It is a courtesy that I'm informing you of the details as far as I know. But I will see what I can do. As for speaking to Dr. McKay, it is normally not permitted for people in holding to have contact with anyone from the outside while an investigation is in process, but in this case there will hardly by much to investigate. The facts seem to be rather clear. It is unfortunate, I must say, that you have misplaced your trust in Dr. McKay."

"On our world, people are innocent until they are proven guilty. Until you can show me sufficient proof that Dr. McKay was involved in activities that violate any of your laws I refuse to acknowledge that he is guilty of any crime." Elizabeth said firmly.

The problem was only maybe Rodney had, through misjudgement or carelessness let himself get dragged into a situation that had violated the law of Yamin. As their guests they had to adhere to the law of their hosts.

* * *

He couldn't move, couldn't breathe. Everything hurt. Two men, their shapes blurring and trailing every time they moved were shouting at him in hurtful noises. He didn't understand what they were saying; the words were mangled lumps of sound that drove sharp spikes of pain through his head. He wanted to scream at them to stop, but his voice had given out hours ago.

One of the men leaned close to him, he closed his eyes, and he couldn't bear to look into the face of his abuser anymore. He woke with a start, opening his eyes not to the brightly lit cell, but to a room that looked familiar even though he was devoid of a previous memory of it. The barren ceiling was bathed in soft yellow light, creating a calm atmosphere. He had been here before. He could not recall any details, but he knew that this place was familiar. He had no memory of its name, or how he had come to be here. Before waking up, everything was a blank.

Panic surged through him at the grim realization that he knew nothing, not even his own name. Suddenly, he felt trapped, couldn't breathe, like he was falling very fast. He groped for something to hold him, a name, a place, a face, but his mind came up empty. He sat up with a start, the adrenaline release giving him sudden strength and energy. His body responded with an intense wave of pain that rippled from his abdomen all through his body. He bit his lip and tasted blood as he tried to catch his breath.

The pain grounded him momentarily and the worst of his mindless panic ebbed away. He was still frightened out of his mind, but he could breathe again. Lifting the grey shirt that he was wearing, he discovered that his midsection was wrapped tightly with a white bandage. At the edges of the bandage, his skin was tinged in angry blue and dark violet. The whole area was painful to touch and didn't take kindly to movement. It reassured him that his wounds seemed to have been taken care of by someone.

Carefully, he moved to get up from the bed he had woken up on. He needed the wall for support to get upright, but with its help and considerable pain he managed to get to his feet. He looked around the small room. The bed was the only piece of furniture. There were no windows, one door at the front side of the room and an open doorway leading off to the right.

Step by step, he worked himself forwards, towards the door. His body protested from the first step and sweat was soaking his thin shirt after three, but he kept going. Why, he wasn't so sure. There was something about that door that drew him in. Maybe it was that he expected to find answers behind it to the myriad of questions that were running through his mind.

TBC


	9. Chapter 8

_**Vital Lies**_

_**Chapter 8**_

* * *

John shifted in his seat, trying to find a comfortable position. It seemed impossible to sit in a way that didn't put a strain on his back. The pain was spreading with every minute that passed since they'd left the medical centre. At Teyla's and Ford's insistence, he and Beckett had gotten dressed and left as quickly as the two injured men could manage. Walking down the corridor alone had been a challenge for John which he had only mastered with Aiden supporting a large portion of his weight. He knew that he was in no shape to be moving around. His back stung and ached, sending spikes of pain down into his legs. His head didn't feel much better. Maybe it was the movement of the Ymanhin version of a subway or the soft hum that accompanied him, but he was positively dizzy and had one hell of a headache building. 

For what seemed at least the fifth time in the past half hour, the train stopped at a station with a lurch, jarring his injuries and catapulting him out of the daze he'd been floating in. His eyes flew open and he gazed at his team mates; Carson was slumped over, elbows resting on his knees, opposite him. Aiden sat next to Carson looking around, observing the other passengers nervously. Not even Teyla seemed her usual serene self. Something was wrong and he didn't know what.

It made sense that Aiden assumed control since he was in no shape to take the lead, still it made him nervous not to know what was going on. Sheppard remembered too little and what he remembered was too vague to explain what was going on now. As a soldier he was used to following orders, though on Atlantis he had been the one giving them. The sudden reversal of positions and everyone's refusal to answer his questions left him confused and suspicious.

The car resumed its motion once more. John drew in a painful breath, hoping that the torturous journey would end soon. The pain was starting to get a firm grip on his rib cage. No one had actually bothered to tell him what was wrong with him. There was something going on with his back that much he had figured. The train slowed and stopped again. This time Teyla and Ford got up from their seats.

"We are at the station near the Stargate." Teyla announced and put a hand under his elbow to help him up.

Meanwhile Aiden was helping Carson to his feet. With their combined efforts, they managed to get of the subway train just in time. Standing on his feet was far worse than sitting; John noticed having walked only a few steps out onto the platform. He tried his best to support his own weight, but was aware how much he was clinging on to his lieutenant. Across the square was the Interstellar Travel Station that housed the Stargate on Yamin. Hundreds of people milled over the open ground. Nobody was paying particular attention to the Atlantians, but Ford and Teyla were still nervous. It seemed too easy that they were just going to walk off the planet after all the trouble everyone on the planet had brought them.

"Are you two all right?" Aiden directed his question at Carson and John.

"I will be." Carson replied weakly, not sounding too convinced.

"I have been better; just let's get this over quickly. The sooner I get to sit down the better." John ground out; painfully aware of every second he was spending on his feet.

"It's just over there. We'll be back in Atlantis in no time, sir." Aiden said apologetically.

The group dragged themselves across the square. It was a slow, painful crawl. John had to bit his lip not to cry out in pain as every step sent fire through his back. One step. Another step. The building in the distance tilted.

* * *

Rodney would have been pacing a rut into the floor if he could. But at the moment, his wrists and ankles were bound by handcuff like restraints. All, he could do was rock his heels in frustration and nervousness. After he and the mysterious woman had been stopped in the underground corridor by an armed guard, they, along with a group of about ten other people had been herded into a shuttle. Rodney had protested his innocence but in return, one of the guards had put restraints around his ankles and wrists. 

Now, he was cowering on the metal floor of the back of a shuttle, with twelve people in the small back compartment it was crammed. Most were silent, but there were a few hushed conversations going on. He couldn't see the woman from before, but needed to know what was going on. Rodney had his suspicions what had happened, but wanted to know for sure.

"What's going on?" He whispered to the woman sitting next to him.

She merely looked at him with an empty expression. "You don't know?" She sounded incredulous.

"I haven't been here for long." Rodney said, hoping that would do as explanation.

"It's over. They are going to send us to Shukur." She whispered tonelessly.

"I didn't do anything. I'm innocent." Rodney protested.

For the first time, the woman seemed to really look at him. "It won't matter whether you are innocent or not. They won't believe you. You were in the wrong place at the wrong time."

* * *

The flight to the KAIA facility had only taken half an hour, but to Elizabeth it seemed like entire morning had passed. To her surprise, Wam Vter had contacted her again, less than twenty minutes after his first call, informing her that he had secured an opportunity to talk with Rodney. Still somewhat outraged at the arrest without clear information as to what the actual charges were, it had taken all her diplomatic skills to thank him appropriately for his efforts. 

The holding cells were housed in a dull grey building. Elizabeth had never been to a prison on earth, but imagined them to look similar: concrete buildings, high walls topped off with barbed wire, security cameras and guards surveying the grounds. At the entrance to the main building, they passed a scanner and were searched for weapons. Elizabeth was getting nervous, but she worked hard to hide it behind a calm facade. Her control over the situation her people were in had been taken away from her step by step since their arrival on the planet and she didn't like it one bit. Should the situation escalate and their diplomatic relations deteriorate, and at this point, Elizabeth could definitely see the possibility; the prison facility would be impossible to break into with the weapons they had. They had to find a diplomatic solution to all this. Hopefully, Teyla and Aiden were getting back to Atlantis safely.

"You may pass." A guard, his name tag identifying him as Rusan, told them impassively.

They stepped past the barrier and waited for Rusan to lead the way, not having to go far before they reached Rodney's cell. Rusan stopped.

"We are here. You wish to talk to the prisoner?"

"Yes. I want to talk to Dr. McKay." Elizabeth affirmed. Rusan got a key card out from his pocket.

"I must warn you. He may be violent. He had to be restrained when he was arrested. It is not customary for prisoner to be questioned by untrained personnel."

Elizabeth's heart sank when she heard what Rusan had to say. Rodney didn't deserve to be restrained and manhandled. "I know Dr. McKay, it won't be a problem." She reassured the guard.

"All right." Rusan unlocked the door to Rodney's cell and let her proceeded inside. Wam Vter was about to follow her when Elizabeth turned around.

"I want to talk to him alone." Elizabeth knew that she couldn't stop the Yamin from listening to their conversation if they wanted to, but she didn't want company in the form of Wam Vter.

"I'm afraid I can't allow that, Dr. Weir. For your own safety, I must insist that I accompany you." Wam Vter smiled.

Elizabeth fought hard for composure, but thought better of arguing. She was not in the position to bargain and she needed to talk to Rodney urgently, so she nodded and walked into the cell. Wam Vter followed her.

Rodney sat on what passed for a bed in the sparsely furnished holding cell. Aside from the bed, there was a table and a chair, both fused to the ground. Rodney looked up as soon as he heard them enter. His face visibly lit up when he recognized Elizabeth.

"Finally, I thought nobody was going to show up!" he greeted her.

"Rodney, are you all right?"

"Yeah, these are a bit of a bother." He indicated the cuffs that restricted the movements of his legs and arms, "but I'm all right." Rodney looked from Elizabeth to Wam Vter and back to Elizabeth. Weir nodded slightly.

"What's happened?"

"I don't know." Rodney thought it best to mention as few details as possible. He didn't trust Wam Vter and if he had read Elizabeth expression right, she didn't either.

"You were in the company of Denebria sympathists." Wam Vter accused. "How long have you been working with them?"

"I haven't been working with them. I don't know any of them." Rodney shot back.

"Rodney! Calm down. This isn't an interrogation, Wam Vter. I want to talk to one of my people and I want to hear his side of the story." Elizabeth insisted.

"He must answer the accusations laid against him. Otherwise he has already acknowledged his guilt." Wam Vter said coldly.

"What am I even charged with? Nobody in this banana state has even bothered to tell me what's going on!" Rodney yelled. It was all going a little to fast; his initial fear was fast converting to anger and exasperation.

"Rodney, let me explain. Apparently you got caught up in a raid with a group of Denebria sympathisists. It's probably just a misunderstanding."

"There was nothing to misunderstand. The evidence is quite clear. Dr. McKay was caught together with Yraj, a KAIA agent guilty of treason. She has already admitted to working with Dr. McKay." Wam Vter positively sneered.

"Oh, this is classic. Telling me that she confessed? I don't believe it." Rodney replied. He would have felt like laughing had the situation not been that serious. He felt like he was stuck in a bad prison movie.

Elizabeth tried to be the voice of reason in a conversation that was slipping from her fast. "Wam Vter, in what crimes has Yraj implicated Dr. McKay exactly? It would be helpful to us if we knew that." She asked, realizing that Wam Vter knew far more about the entire affair than he had let on initially.

Her suspicions that the arrest had been staged, or at least manipulated were growing fast. But until she had more concrete evidence, she had to at least to try to find a diplomatic solution. Wam Vter sat down on the only chair in the cell.

"Yraj made a full confession, Dr. Weir. I believe you have met Yraj before." Wam Vter paused, waiting for her to answer.

"Yes, she was working at the palace." Elizabeth answered impatiently, not seeing the point of the question.

"I think it should concern you greatly that Yraj has chosen to come clean with us." Wam Vter smiled. "We should continue this discussion elsewhere, Dr. Weir." He got up and walked towards the door.

"I'm not finished yet. I want to talk to Dr. McKay without any of your interruptions." Elizabeth insisted more firmly.

"I'm afraid this is not possible. At least not until you have answered some questions for us, Dr. Weir."

* * *

As long as he was moving, he was doing something and as long as he was doing something, he had a goal, something to fixate his thoughts and prevent them from spiralling away into the emptiness that was his mind. He was scared of the black chasm in his mind, empty with no memories, and no hint of who he was and where he'd come from. He had to keep moving, had to keep focussed, it was what kept him from being swept away in another wave of panic. 

But it was hard work, every step was painful and even though it hadn't felt particularly hot in the room before, he could feel the sweat beading on his forehead now as he felt his way along the wall. Finally he reached the doorway to his left. Panting, he leaned against the wall. The room to his side was a small bathroom or used to be one. Many tiles were cracked, some shattered on the floor. A ray of what looked like sunlight was cast on the dusty floor. A window? Curiously, he pushed himself off the wall and staggered across the room, barely making it to the sink on the other wall. His hands were trembling when he clung onto the cool porcelain for support. Once he had caught his breath, he tumbled towards the window.At first the dust coloured landscape was blurred, but became cleared as he came closer. The glass was stained, but he could see the endlessly stretching plains of grey stone with few trees and bush littered in between. The land looked rough and foreign to him. Had he been there before? Could he have grown up in these lands and not remember anything about it? It seemed

impossible that he could know a landscape that seemed so alien to him; somehow he thought that it should be greener.

Frustrated, he turned away from the window and set out back to the sink. He was thirsty and hot. The thought of a little cool water was promising. As he turned, a flicker of an image caught his eye and he turned back. It was a mirror, or rather what remained of one. Like the window it was badly stained, and cracked, but it was enough to find himself staring into the face of a stranger.

TBC


	10. Chapter 9

_**Vital Lies**_

_**Chapter 9**_

* * *

It felt like a hundred miles, but in reality it must have been more like a hundred steps before they finally reached the huge Interstellar Travel Station hall that housed the Stargate on Yamin. Cool air lashed at them as they entered, Carson welcomed the change from the glaring sun outside. He felt like he had run a marathon in the summer mid-day heat and all he wanted to do right now was lie down somewhere.

Devoid of energy, he let Teyla guide him and only noticed when she softly pushed Beckett down, that she had guided him to a bench. Gratefully, the Scot let go of her and sank down. Sleep, that would be wonderful right now, he thought, tempted to just close his eyes. But he knew he had to stay awake for a while longer. Through his half-closed eyes, he saw Teyla talk to Ford, then walk off. Carson briefly wondered what was going on, but then decided it was too much of an effort and that Teyla and Ford were going to get them back home.

Even sitting was too much for Sheppard. It was a vast improvement to being half-dragged across the square, but the sheer effort of keeping his back straight was too much and the pain that it caused made the Major serious consider begging for the good drugs. It must have shown on his face, because suddenly Aiden was kneeling in front of him, concern clearly written all over his young features.

"Teyla is talking with the magistrate right now. We should be through the Gate in no time. They'll be able to fix you up in the infirmary and you'll be up and around in no time."

John wanted to tell Ford that he was babbling, but that would have required too much energy, but settled for wordlessly sagging to the side.

Instead of hitting the bench as he had expected, John slumped against something soft and solid that grunted in response.

"Sorry." John mumbled, not sure if his voice carried over the noise. He wanted to move off Carson, but his muscles remained slack. The Major could see Ford frantically rummaging through his pack, his lips moving fast. John heard the words, but they made no sense. Suddenly it didn't seem all that important anymore. He closed his eyes and oblivion found him.

"Shit!" Aiden swore, seeing the sudden change in the Major. He reached for the man's wrist, feeling for a pulse. He found it rapid under the hot skin. 'Where was Teyla?' There were too many people milling around waiting to travel or working to unload goods that had arrived through the Gate.

Teyla was emerging from a room at the far end of the hall when it happened. Aiden had seen an explosion before, but still stood transfixed, deafened by the sudden eruption of sound. The initial shock couldn't have lasted more than a moment before Ford found himself thrown to the ground, instinct and training taking over. A forceful wave of heat and small debris brushed over him, he felt a sharp sting in his back that quickly made way to fiery pain. Teyla stared at the scene in shock.

One moment, the pile of crates had been next to the Gate probably as part of a trade agreement, ready to be sent through. The next they'd exploded, blasting a deadly wave of burning debris through the hall. The sound of the explosion faded as the hall plunged into chaos. People were screaming, an alarm was blaring and water was raining down from the ceiling, failing to make a dent into the fire that had quickly sprung onto other cargo. Smoke was starting to fill the hall, making Teyla's eyes water. She couldn't see her team mates in the pandemonium, far from the exploding crates at the opposite end of the hall, but the others had been closer to the Gate.

All around her, those who could still walk were scrambling for the exit as the smoke got heavier. Her weapon and pack were cumbersome and hindered the Athosian's progress squeezing through the panicked crowd on its way between injured bodies and abandoned counters. Teyla's foot caught in something solid, she pitched forwards coming down hard on her P-90. Nobody paid her any attention in the frantic rush for fresh air. A foot landed on her arm, another on her back, ignoring her screams of protest. She tried using her arms to push herself up, but another foot slammed into her back, bring Teyla down again, gasping in pain. A kick to the head followed suit. The Athosian cried out and raised her arms to protect her head. The edge of a boot rammed into the side of her head, sending lights dancing across her field of vision. The colours were draining, Teyla's was vision faltering when the heavy impact of a body came down on top of her, knees slamming her into the ground. The oppressive weight was making breathing a struggle and in that instant Teyla knew that she wasn't going back to Atlantis.

Aiden scrambled to his feet, trying to ignore the biting pain in his back. It could wait. He had to help his team. Carson was lying face down on the bench. Dark wetness was glistening on the back of his head, a blood stain forming around a smouldering tear in the back of his uniform. Ford swallowed. Time passed in slow motion as he reached out to feel for a pulse. Relief flooded him, feeling the pulsating vein under his hand. Beckett was bleeding badly, but he was still alive.

The Lieutenant wiped his bloody hand on his pants and scanned the area for John. For a moment, he started to panic, finally spotting a leg sticking out from behind the stone bench. He rushed around it and found John in a crumpled heap on the floor. There was a dark stain on the back of his uniform jacket, but Aiden could not tell whether it was from a new injury or from his previous wound. Otherwise, he seemed unhurt; the bench had protected him from the rain of debris. The artificial rain from the sprinklers burned on Aiden's face as he absently rubbed a hand over it. He couldn't see Teyla. She could be anywhere in all the chaos, with people running towards the exit. They were at the far side of the hall, sheltered from the crowd close to the gate, the smoke already biting in his throat.

They needed to get out of the building but he couldn't carry Carson and the Major. They both needed to get to Atlantis as soon as possible. Aiden glanced down at Beckett, helpless to do anything for him. On one side the fire, one the other the frantic crowd cut them off from the Gate. There had to be a way to get through. The heavy smoke and still running sprinklers made it impossible to see clearly. It was one of those moments when he had to make the impossible decision. It wasn't his job and he shouldn't have to decided, nobody should. But, he was already feeling the burn of the smoke in his lungs and he could only try to get one of his injured team mates to the Gate. It all seemed to take an eternity as he stood there, torn in two, but in reality, only a second passed before he grabbed Carson and started to drag him towards the Gate. Ford's back lashed at him in fury, he could feel something wet trickle down his arm, but he didn't relinquish his grip on Carson. A few hard-won steps and they were getting close to the fire. It was even harder to see here, Aiden more felt the scorching heat than saw anything. Glass crunched under his feet. Every breath burned. He moved trying to find a spot clear of the flames. He found it. It wasn't a real opening, but with a small leap, he could make it. Just. Could he make the leap with Carson? There was no choice, he let go of the unconscious doctor for a moment and pulled his jacket up to cover his head. Pulling Beckett into a firm hold, Ford closed his eyes and dragged him across as fast as he could. It wasn't hot as the flames licked at the Lieutenant, as if his nerve endings were being short-circuited.

On the other side, he let go of Carson and made a mad dash of the DHD, hammering down on the glyphs. He didn't notice the blood smears he left on them as he waited for the Gate to dial. When the vortex finally establish, he punched in his IDC and more crawled than walked back to Carson. Eyes fixed on the event horizon, he pulled the Scot across the floor, finally tumbling forwards into the shimmering circle of blue.

The landing was hard on the other side as Aiden and Carson spilled from the Gate. The cool fresh air was a gift and Aiden was gasping for breath, lost to the cacophony of familiar voices. Hands were on him, shifting him onto his back. He was looking at the ceiling and Dr. Grodin appeared in his field of vision. He looked like the City was about to sink, Aiden thought. Grodin's face blurred and Aiden started to panic. 'Teyla and the Major'! He lashed out a hand, gripping Grodin's wrist.

"Go back! Now!" His voice was a choked rasp and the words stole what little air he had left. "Sheppard...Teyla, they die," was a toneless whisper.

"We'll take care of it, Lieutenant. We'll take care of everything. Just hang on." Dr. Grodin reassured the frantic soldier before one of the medics pushed him out of the way.

Peter Grodin watched in shock as the medical team rushed Carson and Aiden off to the infirmary, leaving behind only blood smears on the floor of the Gateroom.

He swirled around, barking orders: "I want Sergeant Bates and his team here ASAP. I need them ready to go through the Gate NOW!"

Private Reynolds stared at the scientist, not used to seeing the mild mannered man react with such harshness. Sensing Grodin's glare, she rushed to get the sergeant on the comm.

* * *

With Wam Vter in front of her and Rusan behind her, Elizabeth didn't have much choice but to follow them down the corridor into another small room, furnished with a large table and several chairs. It didn't have the desolate and dilapidated look of the rest of the prison, but looked more like a conference room with its carpeted floor and the large view screen on one of the walls. Inside, a woman in a grey blue uniform like Rusan was waiting for them. When they entered, she smiled brightly, but without detectable malice. 

"Dr. Weir, take a seat." She gestured to the group of chairs. "I'm Fersor. I'm an agent with KAIA and one of the agents leading the investigation into the terrorist attack two months ago. On behalf of everyone working on this case, I express our sympathy to your people. You should never have been involved in this matter." She looked seriously distraught, but by now Elizabeth was weary of all the Ymanhin. They played with emotions just a little bit too well and they were always the perfect hosts.

"Thank you." Elizabeth took the offered seat. "Why have I been brought here?" she returned every bit as polite. "There are some unresolved questions as to the motives of Dr. McKay's conduct."

Elizabeth's reflex was to protest at the obvious incrimination of the scientist by the statement, but let it pass. It wouldn't help to be provoked that easily.

"He implied on several occasions that he acted on your orders and you confirmed this when talking to Wam Vter. This implies you not only knew of his collaboration with the traitors, but you supported and probably even instigated it. We have proof of the two occasions in questions. Rusan, please show Dr. Weir."

Rusan fiddled with what looked like a large remote control and an image appeared on the view screen. It was Wam Vter and Rodney in an office.

"This was taken yesterday afternoon in Wam Vter's office when Dr. McKay came to him for information. Let's watch what Dr. McKay had to say."

_"Are you all right?" Wam Vter addressed Rodney. _

_"Yes, I'm all right. We just have some more questions about what happened to our co-workers." Rodney said, sounding officious._

_"I understand, what do you want to know?" Wam Vter replied._

Rusan stopped the surveillance tape.

"Dr. Weir confirmed his statement later in the following conversation." Fersor continued.

_"Dr. McKay has been missing since this afternoon. We haven't seen him since we left the medical centre." Elizabeth's voice said in an urgent tone._

_"Oh. He came to me earlier today. He had questions about what happened. From what he said, I assumed that you had sent him there in an official capacity." Wam Vter's voice was on now. _

_"He was acting in our interests." Elizabeth again._

Elizabeth said nothing. This alone didn't prove anything. Of course they were entirely at the mercy of the Ymanhin. If they decided to throw her and Rodney in jail without a court hearing or whatever was appropriate on Yamin then there was nothing they could do. It occurred to her that she didn't know what rights she had on Yamin. They had never asked. Until now they had never been in the situation to be confronted with an alien justice system. From what she had gathered, Rodney had been caught in the wrong crowd, probably looking for a truth that might or might not be there. There was a witness incriminating him and some circumstantial evidence linking him to stolen material. That wouldn't be enough for a conviction on Earth, lack of evidence. But they were on foreign territory and in the eyes of the Ymanhin; it might just be enough to lock Rodney up.

"I took the liberty of contacting the Fiatyn Medical Centre just before you came. I was planning on sending someone over to have a word with Major Sheppard and Dr. Beckett, but it appears that you were faster. The nightshift doctor informed me that two of your people came by to pick them up during the night. It looks like you have something to hide, Dr. Weir. Otherwise, I might have been inclined to believe that Dr. McKay acted independently. That happens. One of our own team from KAIA was among the group." Fersor said softly. "I don't want to suspect you. I believe you and your people are sincere and honest."

Wam Vter smiled at her. Elizabeth wished the world would stand still, giving her an eternity to think. She could tell the truth, deny any knowledge of Rodney's activities or she could accept responsibility for them; tell them that she had ordered them. The truth could condemn Rodney unless further investigation cleared him. Lying was going to condemn them both and end any diplomatic relations between Atlantis and the Ymanhin.

"I don't have to explain myself to you, but I will explain why I ordered my people to leave your planet. I have nothing to hide. I didn't know of Dr. McKay's plan to visit Wam Vter. I didn't order him to do so. The last time I saw him was when we were at the Medical Centre. I only learned about his visit to Wam Vter the following night when Wam Vter called me. I lied because I didn't want to admit that I couldn't control my people. The only reason I ordered my back to Atlantis was because I feared something had happened to Dr. McKay and we were no longer safe on Yamin." Elizabeth said.

It hurt to say it, knowing that she was shifting all the blame towards Rodney, but she could do nothing for him by being imprisoned herself.

"You deny any knowledge of Dr. McKay's activities after yesterday morning?"

"Yes, that is what I'm saying." Elizabeth nodded. She felt like screaming.

"During your previous stay on Yamin, can you account for Dr. McKay's whereabouts at all times?"

Elizabeth thought for a while. She hadn't been part of the first mission to Yamin. The planet had been discovered by Sergeant Stackhouse and his team. Then Major Sheppard, Lieutenant Ford and a group of scientists, including Rodney had been there for a brief visit. Only then had they officially opened trade negotiations and Elizabeth joining the team. They'd spent most of the time stuck in conference rooms. Then been shuttled back to their accommodations and after an unmercifully brief respite, their hosts had insisted on taking them out to see pieces of the Yamin culture.

"I wasn't present on his first visit to your world. I'm fairly certain I also can account for his whereabouts on our previous visit to your planet." She said with real conviction, not really sure what to believe. Weir hated herself for giving in even a little bit to their suspicions.

"That's fine." Fersor said lightly. "Nobody can watch the people every moment of the day."

"What happens now?" Elizabeth asked. "Dr. McKay will be questioned as will be the remaining prisoners caught in the raid. Once we are done with the interviews, we should be able to wrap up the investigation."

Elizabeth's eyebrow's shot up. The raid had happened not twelve hours ago and the agent was already talking about finalizing the investigation. Either KAIA had vastly more manpower than any investigative agency on Earth, or due process was an alien concept to the Ymanhin. Fersor must have read her expression.

"Don't be surprised Dr. Weir. We have already confirmed your statement that Dr. McKay left the Medical Centre while the rest of you remained. As soon as you mentioned it, one of my agents accessed the security footage and checked." Fersor said with a hint of pride in her voice.

"You need to remain here until we have finished questioning Dr. McKay. We will see whether he confirms what you have told us."

TBC


	11. Chapter 10

**_Vital Lies_**

**_Chapter 10  
_**

* * *

Rodney shuffled back on his cot, leaning against the cool wall. So far his stay in prison had been uneventful. From the shuttle into which they'd been herded like animals, arriving at the prison into a hall and split up. Two guards had dragged him into his cell, not bothering to free his ankles or wrists. No one had addressed any of his questions until Elizabeth had arrived. And even then, he hadn't gotten much further than to protest his innocence. The only thing he had learned was that allegedly Yraj had implicated him. If he could believe what Wam Vter; Rodney didn't believe him on the matter of the report, but the report hadn't been written by Wam Vter. If there was an 'official version' being presented to them, then Wam Vter was just the delivery man.  
Rodney tried thinking back from the beginning, the terrorist attack on the foreign ministry two months ago and the kidnapping of John and Carson. He could work with that. Independent of whether the terrorists had acted out of xenophobic hate or other unknown motives, the kidnappers had proceeded to interrogate their captives. Rodney cringed at the memory of reading about the torturous interrogations. Next, John and Carson had ended up in stasis, thanks to Sjel, the undercover agent. Then two months later, the Ymanhin had made contact with Atlantis again. So far those were the only events that he knew about or that both reports agreed upon.

And he knew something else. A grin spread over Rodney's face. The situation was far from happy, but he couldn't resist the satisfaction of having figured it out. He didn't have all the answers yet, but he was starting to see what might really be happening.

It had occurred to him that he also knew that there was a traitor on Atlantis. The information on the report Yraj had shown him had come from an insider. It couldn't have been faked. Yraj might have stolen the report as was the apparent accusation, but she couldn't have constructed it. The report Wam Vter had shown him was perfect in every way. It answered all their questions and prevented anyone from probing further into the matter. It established a closed timeline that accounted for the entire time that John and Carson had been missing, shifting the blame to the terrorists who had been acting based on their xenophobic ideology and who would remain at large indefinitely. The two missing Atlantians returned more or less intact. It would have worked. No loose ends, no open questions. That had been the plan. But why? What was the motive and what were they trying to cover up? Who was doing the cover up job?

The 'why' brought him back to Yraj and the report she had given him. Sjel hadn't named the motives of the terrorists, the only clue he had given was that John and Carson had been selected for a reason. Rodney ran through the possibilities. He had done this before, but maybe he had missed something. John had obvious strategic value. Beyond that, he had the gene. Carson and John both had the gene. Possible. The report had only contained the questions John had been asked and none had been related to the ATA gene. The interrogation had been laid out to gain strategic information about Atlantis. John hadn't talked,  
Carson, he didn't know. Sjel's mysterious boss had been satisfied at the end of the day. So satisfied that John and Carson had outlived their usefulness. Why the rush?

The only conclusion was that they were never after the information gained in the first place, because then the sensible solution would have been to keep them around, whether or not they had talked. The terrorists hadn't been adverse to techniques of persuasion before, having more days to work on their prisoners would only work to their advantage. If however the terrorists had wanted John or Carson to activate an Ancient device, a day was enough. That scenario was worked. They must have found devices that only needed to be activated and then anyone could use them. All the City's computers had come to life when Atlantis had sensed the presence of a gene carrier and could then be used by anyone.

But it was all speculation. Rodney had constructed a theory but had no proof, not to mention he was stuck in jail. Especially if he was in any way right about what was going on, then there was no way he was going to get out of his cell any time soon. His cell door opened almost as soon as he'd thought it, Rusan entering followed by another guard. Rusan silently walked quickly towards him and before McKay had chance to speak, had him pinned down on the cot. The guard wrapped hands around Rodney's wrists, while the bulk of his weight was resting on the Canadian's legs, keeping him pressed down into the mattress.

Rodney panicked, trying to wriggle free, but Rusan remained solid, tightening his grip. Rodney's eyes darted from Rusan to the other guard and back. This was very bad, very 'prison movie' bad. The nameless guard pulled something from his pocket. Rodney twisted his head to get a better look at the thin, rod shaped object, but before he had the chance to say anything, the guard was pushing up his sleeve. Rodney realized what it was but he was too late. Before he could even shout a word in protest, the needle slid into his arm.  
"What are you doing? What is this? You can't do this! You could be killing me! You have no idea what you're doing!" Rodney screamed, panic driving him, already starting to feel woozy.

Rusan smiled and un-cuffed his wrists. Rodney wanted to lash out at him, but his arms were sluggish and weak, rendering his punch ineffectual. The guard didn't even react when McKay's fist made contact. He continued to struggle in vain as the two guards picked him up and dragged him out of his cell. The concrete wall of the corridor seemed to fall inwards as they made countless turns in the maze of the prison complex. Rodney felt dizzy and nauseous by the time he was roughly deposited on a chair in an otherwise bare room.

The room tilted, he gripped tightly onto the chair. Rusan and the other guard stayed by the door while a woman dressed in a uniform similar to the guards stepped in front of him. Rodney hadn't noticed her before, but she must have been there when they'd brought him in. Like everything else, she kept shifting out of focus, but her smile was unmistakable.

"Do you know a woman called Yraj"

The royal palace. Waiting. The assistant. A bow and a smile.

"Yes"

"Have you met her prior to yesterday"

"Yes, at the palace. She was the royal aide." Rodney had trouble forming the words. His brain had taken on a life of its own.

"Have you been giving information about trade negotiations to Yraj"

"No, no." Rodney shook his head vigorously. He knew he was walking a fine line. Whatever drug he had been given had messed with his head, but he was still in control for the moment. So far he had been able to answer the questions truthfully. He would see how well he did when he came to lying.

"Has Yraj at any point asked you for information of any kind"

"No." Another easy one.

"Did Dr. Weir order you to collaborate with Yraj"

"No." The implication made Rodney nervous.

"When did you start collaborating with Yraj"

"No, no." Not good. Rodney didn't manage a full sentence.

"When did you start collaborating with Yraj"

One night, only one night. The thought hammed into his brain. "Once." His voice sounded strangled.  
"What information did she give you"

Change of tactics. It's harder to lie when he had to answer in sentences. "No. No information, no...no report." It hurt to stop talking.

The woman just looked at him, waiting him out. Rodney bit his lip, trying to keep the words in. His thoughts pushed to by formed into words.

"Didn't show my anything. No report! She gave it me to read. No, no. It's not true! It was terrible! They tortured him. Then they killed them. Sjel. I don't know anything. No! Please, stop this. Please." Rodney begged, losing the fight against the drugs.

It was disconcerting to say the least. Decades of life were looking back at him; so many years of experience etched on a face that he couldn't remember. The reflection had short dark hair that looked like it hadn't seen water for quite some time. A large part on the left side of his head was covered in a smooth blue material. He raised his hand and gingerly ran fingers over it. It was solid to the touch and just a little bit painful. On the edges of the blue covering, his hair had been shaved and was just beginning to grow back. He frowned and the mirror image did likewise. It annoyed him, the man in the mirror, wasn't him. If it were, he would know it. This stranger was nothing like him, he felt nothing.

But the strange dressing would explain why he couldn't remember anything about himself or his surroundings. He must have hurt his head in an accident. Tired blue eyes looked back when he glanced up at the mirror again. He must have been out for a couple of days judging by the stubble on his face. He should be in a hospital, he thought and images of white corridors appeared in his mind, hospitals at home. The sudden thought entered his mind unbidden. He got the strong feeling that this wasn't his home. Not just this building or this room. It was the same feeling he had had when he'd looked out of the window earlier. He was a stranger here.

There was a click and the sound of the door being opened. He quickly looked around the desolate bathroom; there was nowhere to hide.

"Ah, there you are, feeling better?" A blue skinned man appeared in the open doorway, holding a tray with both hands.

"Come out, I brought food and medicine. You're still hurt." The man sounded more bored than anything else and his offer was tempting, still he felt threatened without knowing why. There was something lurking just beyond his grasp, he could feel it, but couldn't quite reach it.

"Do you understand what I'm saying?" Now the blue skinned man sounded a bit exasperated.

Maybe he wasn't being fair, after all, he was probably a complete stranger and this man had taken him in and cared for his wounds.

"Yes, I understand your language." He answered, hearing for the first time the sound of his own voice.

"Then come, I haven't got all day." The man replied.

He followed him into the main room where they sat down on the bed, realising how glad he was to finally sit down, standing to long. His host handed him a cup of murky brown liquid, motioning for him to drink it. It tasted bitter and made him think of something called tea.

"Here, take these. They'll take the edge of your headache." His host pushed two white pills into his hand.  
He eyed them suspiciously. A headache that had been building steadily and he'd seen evidence of a head injury in the mirror, still part of him was sceptical of accepting drugs from a stranger. He needed to know. He looked up from the pills, straight into the eyes of the blue faced man.

"What happened to me?" He asked, afraid of the answer.

"You were at the wrong end of a gun. But it could have been worse. It was small calibre. I patched you up as good as possible here. I'm the best around." The man said with pride.

His hand went up to his head, feeling the smooth covering. It felt wrong. Somehow it didn't make any sense. He knew he should be dead. The other man interpreted his gesture differently.

"It's not like we're on the homeworld. I don't have the equipment, just some things that I scrounged. You're just going to have to wait for things to finish healing the old fashioned way. You'd obviously gotten some treatment before you were sent off here, though not enough to fix the damage, but enough to keep you from dying. I honestly thought they did better in jail"

"Jail?" He was astounded and scared.

"Everyone here came from the jail. You're no better than the rest of us"

"Do you know who I am?" This was the most difficult question to ask. What did he do to get himself shot?

"Do I look like your mother? I didn't ask any questions when Tyrone showed up on my doorstep with two stasis pods. You don't ask Tyrone questions. Pick a name and be done with it. I need to call you something." The man laughed.

"I don't know any names." he replied helplessly.

"Kijen"

"Huh?" He was confused.

"I'm going to call you Kijen. You aren't going to pass for Ymanhin, but the name is a good start"

"Kijen." He listened to the sound of the word. No, 'Kit' wasn't his name, he was fairly sure of that, but for the moment it would do. It felt good to have a name. Kijen.

"You said there were two stasis pods?" Kijen asked.

"There were. The other alien died. I'm sorry. I figure he was a friend of yours." The man was oddly sympathetic.

"I don't know, I don't remember." Kijen felt oddly detached. He should feel some sort of loss at the news, but there was nothing. If he knew the man, he can't remember; if he was a friend, then the feelings were gone.

Was he injured?" He asked. Maybe he could find out more about what had happened to them.

"No, I don't know what caused his death. He was already close to death when he was put in stasis, I don't think he was expected to survive on Shukur"

"Shukur"

"Here, this planet. It's a penal colony"

Kijen closed his eyes. He had a bullet wound. A gun fight maybe? Had he killed someone? Had it been about money…about revenge?

If handed a weapon would he know how to use it? So many questions all with answers he couldn't remember.

TBC


	12. Chapter 11

**_Vital Lies_**

**_Chapter 11_**

* * *

Less than 5 minutes after Aiden and Carson had come tumbling through the Gate, four men stood ready to step through it again to save their missing colleagues. Neither Sergeant Bates nor the others knew what awaited them on Yamin. Aiden didn't have a chance to tell them anything expect that Major Sheppard and Teyla were going to die if they didn't go back. It was all they needed to know, it had been all Dr. Grodin had needed to know to order a rescue mission. Now Sergeants Bates, Stackhouse and Markham were standing heavily harmed in the Gateroom waiting for the duty technician to dial the Gate. Next to the Sergeants was Dr. Winterfield, somewhat less heavily armed, carrying emergency medical gear. The Gate locked, the wornhole vortex swirled into existence.

"Good luck! Bring them back home." Grodin called to the men as they stepped up to the blue puddle.

"We will." Bates answered for his team as they walked into the event horizon.

On the other side, the men found their senses assaulted. Heat lashed at them, the first breath filled with burning smoke, the acrid air making their eyes water immediately. Vision was limited, but the heat, smoke and unmistakable crackling, indicated that they were not fare from the fire.

"We can't stay here long! The smoke will…" Dr. Winterfield coughed.

"No shit!" Markham shot back, getting out a life signs detector. "There areabout a dozen life signs over there on the left." He gestured into the smoky haze beyond the remainders of burning crates.

The fire had already consumed much of the wood and the goods contained in the crates. With its fuel gone, the fire no longer completely cut off the Gate from the rest of the hall. Once the men had the fire at their backs, the extent of the destruction became evident. What had not been destroyed by fire, had been taken out by the shockwave of an explosion. Shattered glass, splinters of woods and fragments of metal littered abandoned counters and benches. While the fire in the centre of the room appeared to be dying, it was only getting started on the east wall of the complex where the flames greedily consumed more shipping crates.

"Let's split up. Markham, take Dr. Winterfield and search that way." He pointed down the hall, "Stackhouse and I will go the other way. Stay in radio contact" Bates ordered, not wasting any more words, knowing they only had a very short time before the smoke forced their to return to Atlantis.

The men spilt up, both pairs taking a life sign detector, working as quickly as possible, focussed on the goal of finding their missing colleagues. The ground was littered in rubble, more than one body strewn among it. They'd all seen similar scenes before, even Dr. Winterfield, who'd had his share of field experience on Earth. But experience couldn't lessen the abject horror. Detachment, treating it as a mission to complete, was the only way not to turn and run from the scene. Markham was numb when he turned over yet another bloodied female body. When Teyla's pale and unmoving face seemed to jump out at him, he catapulted into action, yelling for the doctor.

* * *

Elizabeth always hated waiting, but she was used to it. Staying in the City while the teams were off-world had gotten her accustomed to being the one on the sidelines, the one to worry and hope for her people's safe return. And always living with the responsibility that it had been ultimately she who selected the planet to which a team had been sent. It had gotten easier with time, but Weir doubted she would ever get used to it. She probably shouldn't, because a leader who didn't care about his people wasn't fit to lead them. 

All the anxiety of waiting for an overdue team paled in comparison to the tension she felt ripple through her as she sat in the conference room, waiting for Fersor to return with news of the outcome of Rodney's interrogation. It might not necessarily take sinister intentions on the part of Ymanhin for an unwelcome resolution. From what Elizabeth had been able to gather, while their approach to criminal investigation bore similarities to the standards she was used to, permitting or knowing of criminal activity seemed to be taken more seriously than on Earth.

The lock clicked and Fersor opened the door. Smiling, she walked in, followed by Wam Vter.

"I have good news for you, Dr. Weir. Dr. McKay has confirmed what you have told us. He has indeed acted alone. You are not guilty of any crime and will be free to go."

"What will happen to Dr. McKay?"

"He is an accomplice to treason and theft of classified documents. He will receive the appropriate punishment. You need not concern yourself with this, Dr. Weir. We all sometimes misplace our trust." Fersor explained.

"Who will decide Dr. McKay's punishment?" Elizabeth didn't really want to know the answer. The best Rodney could hope for was a court hearing, so that maybe she had a chance to speak on his behalf.

"No Ymanhin is born a criminal. We believe this to be true of all races. If someone is convicted of a crime, they have to make restitution to the community and to the victim and participate in social rehabilitation. However people who, like Dr. McKay have committed a crime against the people of Yamin cannot be tolerated in your community and are punished with exile."

"We'll take him with us. He'll never come back to Yamin again. We can make sure of that." Elizabeth said quickly, hoping to convince Fersor.

"I'm afraid we cannot accept such reassurance." For the first time Wam Vter spoke. "Dr. McKay is not the first off-worlder to commit a crime on Yamin. We cannot rely on alien understanding of justice. Everyone who comes to our world submits to our laws. We treat you as equals, Dr. Weir and we pride ourselves on our acceptance of alien cultures. We will treat you us equals in all matters. Dr. McKay is no exception. He will have to face his punishment like any of our people would in his place."

Elizabeth's hope dwindled. Wam Vter spoke without a hint of malice but with conviction and she believed him. She had seen how the Ymanhin were gracious and accepting hosts even if their extreme politeness rubbed her the wrong way at times.

But this was her game, she reminded herself, this was about negotiating a compromise. All she had to do was remain objective. It was not about what she believed. She wanted, needed to believe that Rodney was innocent, no matter what Fersor and Wam Vter were telling her. It wouldn't matter. They held the power over Rodney's fate and she had to work with that. She forced her thoughts into order, reducing the situation to a negotiation to find a compromise between the Ymanhin and Atlantis' best interests.

"I understand your concerns and I appreciate how well your people have received us. However exiling Dr. McKay and cutting him off from his people is not reconcilable with our understanding of his basic rights." Elizabeth improvised.

Wam Vter's eyes rested on her. "I see. Cutting the criminal off from the community is the defining point of sending them into exile, to prevent further harm to the community. By committing treason, Dr. McKay has betrayed the trust of our people. Exile is both practical and symbolic. For practical reasons, I agree, we could send Dr. McKay back to Atlantis. We have no reasons not to trust you when you say you will not allow him to return to Yamin. But we cannot allow him to go unpunished. However, we might come to an agreement that is acceptable for both of our people."

Elizabeth watched him carefully. She had him where she wanted him. He was ready to make a compromise on Rodney's punishment even though he had been holding all the cards. The only things at risk had been their diplomatic relations, if they were not already damaged beyond repair by the incident.

"I'm willing to push for a symbolic punishment for Dr. McKay, after which, he will be returned to your people. It is not my decision alone, but my suggestion carries a lot of weight since an off-worlder is concerned. Ultimately it will be up to the Judicial Council."

"Thank you. It is very much appreciated." Elizabeth accepted. This was probably the best she was going to get. Still she felt the oppressing weight of helplessness holding her down. There was only so much she could do for Rodney. In the end, he was still going to have to face up to anything the Ymanhin deemed appropriate punishment. Rodney was responsible for his own actions, but she refused to believe in his guilt. It made no sense, there was no logic, no motive for him to be involved with a splinter group among the Ymanhin. She wished she knew what had really happened in those missing eighteen hours.

* * *

There was water as far as he could see. The dark blue ocean stretched across the horizon, no land in sight, not even when he looked down. There was only the metal platform he was standing on; under it he could see the deep sea. He thought he should be frightened, but he was not, he knew that he was safe. He let go of the metal railing he'd been clutching and turned around, looking up. His vista dissolved into a blinding white landscape. Snow. Suddenly a second sun crept up from behind the horizon, sending its glareacross the frozen field. He raised his hand to shield himself from the bright light. The light still hurt and he had to close his eyes to keep out the pain.

* * *

It was the throbbing pain in his head that woke Kijen. For a moment, he was lost. The grey walls of his small room were foreign to him as his eyes searched for something familiar to latch on to, feeling certain that there were memories lurking beneath the surface, lying just outside his grasp. 

His attempts to reach out and remember were stopped as the ache in his head suddenly intensified, capturing all his attention. He clutched his head, trying to keep out the searing pain. The edges of his vision started to grey and moments later Kijen fell into oblivion.

Deakon withdrew from the door, silent witness to the entire episode. It wasn't the first time Kijen had woken up screaming in pain. The alien had woken twice before during the night, never seeming to become fully aware of his surroundings. Deakon had been there both times, yet Kijen had taken no notice of him. Even with his limited medical resources he might have been able to do more for Kijen if he'd had more information about his race. They seemed similar enough to the Ymanhin, but Kijen was not recovering from his head injury nearly as well as Deakon would have hoped.

Loud banging against the metal door downstairs interrupted his thoughts, Deakon hurried to see who was so desperate for his services. To his surprise, Shukur's most powerful man himself, flanked by bodyguards, stood in his doorway.

Tyrone didn't wait to be asked in, he pushed Deakon out of the way and made his way into the main room. Deakon closed the door and followed, trying not to look too intimidated. Tyrone took a seat at the table, while the three bodyguards leaned on the near wall.

"Sit." Tyron gestured to the opposite chair.

"Where are the aliens I had sent to you?"

"One of them is dead. There was nothing I could do. He--" Deakon began, knowing that this wasn't what Tyrone wanted to hear.

"Tsk, tsk. You let him die even though you knew that I had an interest inhim?"

Deakon felt one of Tyrone's goons looming behind him and fidgeted nervously.

"There was nothing I could do. He was already dying."

A pair of arms nailed Deakon to his chair. He saw a flash of metal beforethe cold steel blade touched his neck.

"Do you have any idea how much money your incompetence has cost me?" Tyrone leaned closer.

"No." Deakon choked. The blade pressed deeper into his skin, drawing first blood.

"Where is the other one?"

"He...he is upstairs, but he is injured. Please, don't…"

"Silence! Get him!" Tyrone motioned to his remaining two guards.

TBC


	13. Chapter 12

_**Vital Lies **_

_**Chapter 12

* * *

**_

Stackhouse checked the life sign detector. He could see several more bodies lying between the wrecked furnishings, but the detector showed no active life signs in the immediate vicinity. He grabbed his radio unit and contacted Bates.

"Nothing over here. Any luck on your position?"

"Negative. The fire is covering an entire area and it's spreading, I have to turn back." The sergeant didn't mention what they both knew. It was entirely possible that the major had been lying unconscious somewhere near the east wall where the fire was now raging.

"Understood, I'll meet you there."

Stackhouse deactivated the radio and made to turn back, but something drew him towards the bodies scattered in the smoky haze ahead. If Sheppard was among them, then they needed to know. He could feel the acrid smoke burning in his throat, making each breath feel as if he were breathing liquid fire. Dashing forward, he held the collar of his jacket over his mouth and nose to trying to avoid breathing in too much smoke. His flashlight skimmed over the back of a head. Light blue hair. Not Sheppard. He went on, shifted the remnants of a fallen door to get a better look at a body, but the bloodied face that stared up at him was that of a stranger. A series of violent coughs shook him, leaving soldier fighting for air. If Sheppard was here he was dead. Hoping he was wrong, Stackhouse pulled out the life sign detector again, but like before there was no detectable life among the surrounding wreckage. Dejectedly, he turned back and headed for the Gate.

oOo

The medical team was already standing by when they came back through the Gate. Bates and Dr. Winterfield were first, carrying Teyla's limp form between them, setting her down as soon as they had cleared the event horizon. The waiting medics scurried over as Stackhouse and Markham stumbled out of the Gate and collapsed, gasping for breath.

"Major Sheppard?" Grodin asked, searching the group for the missing major.

"Couldn't find him…." Bates managed between gasps. "Smoke's everywhere... we have to go back!"

"Take it easy." Grodin saw that the sergeant was struggling. "Sorry, but I can't send you back. The only place you're going is the infirmary."

He wanted to tell Private Reynolds to get Captain Hanson and his team down to the Gateroom asap, but he couldn't. The risk was too great. He couldn't send another team into a burning building just to find one man. Even if major Sheppard is…was the military commander of the City.

oOo

Someone was shaking Kijen violently, rousing him from a deep, dreamless sleep. He tried to shift away from the hand that was maintaining a ruthless grip on his shoulders.

"Leave me be, 'm coming. Wha's the emergency?" He mumbled half-awake.

"Get up!" A hard voice shouted and yanked on his arms, pulling them together at his back, pinning him face down into the mattress.

He tried to roll over on his side, but the grip on his arms remained solid and unyielding. That got his attention and suddenly he was wide awake. He opened his eyes and was greeted by the sight of two unfamiliar men. Like Deakon, they were blue skinned.

"What do you want?" He asked, not sure whether he should know these men.

"You! Get up!" The speaker pulled on Kijen's bound arms, forcing him to get off the bed. He stumbled to his feet and the men started to lead him of the room, not bothering to let him dress. Kijen had no choice but to do as they demanded, with his wrists tied behind his back and two against one, he was clearly at a disadvantage.

Coming down the stairs, he could see Deakon crouched over the table, a hand pressed on his neck, blood dripping onto the table. Two more strangers were there, obviously waiting for them. The one standing behind Deakon was holding a knife, looking ready to strike should Deakon make a move.

"Here, that's him."

Kijen was shoved down the final steps and nearly fell to the ground unable to balance himself with hands bound behind his back.

"Good." The oldest of the two new strangers approached him casting an appraising glance. Standing in only his nightclothes, Kijen felt as if he was a horse about to be sold.

"Get him outside and keep quiet." The older man, obviously the leader of the group ordered. "I still have unfinished business with our friend Deakon here."

Kijen resisted. It wasn't as much a conscious choice as instinct not to leave his shelter and the only familiar place. The reaction of his captors was immediate. A quick kick to the back of his right knee dropped him instantly to the hard stone floor. Pain shot up into his shoulders when he was yanked roughly by the arm back to his feet. This time he complied and limped outside.

It was freezing cold. The sky was pre-dawn orange, dust heavy in the air. His thin shirt and shorts provided next to no protection against the night chill. It would be several hours before the temperature rose, but then the heat could quickly become almost unbearable outside.

The gravel pricked his feet as they pushed him towards a brown vehicle parked near the house. It reminded Kijen of a truck, but he had no idea what a truck was or where he had ever seen one. One of his captors moved ahead to the back of the vehicle, untying some sort of tarp covering the back. For a split second, an image flashed in Kijen's mind, a street and many vehicles like this in different colours against a green landscape.

"Get in there." The man pointed to the interior of the truck.

Inside, it was dark and not much warmer. The cold easily seeped in. They secured the tarp from the outside again, trapping him inside, thankfully leaving his feet untied and free to move around the interior of the truck. It took a moment before his eyes adjusted to the low levels of light inside before he could make out the outlines of two wooden crates and two larger canisters. He'd just gotten to his feet when the vehicle suddenly started moving on the bumpy dirt road. To his surprise the noise of the engine was almost familiar.

He scuttled with his back to the tarp to get into a comfortable position. His shoulders had begun to ache from his arms being twisted into the unusual position behind his back, the cold already seeping into his skin through thin clothing. He desperately wanted to wrap his arms around himself trying to preserve a meagre amount of warmth, but all he could do was curl up as closely as he could, trying to preserve body heat.

oOo

Rodney came to consciousness disoriented and hazy. His head felt like his brain had been stuffed with cotton wool. He blinked a few times, trying to bring his surroundings into focus and found himself in a spacious room, not the cell he had been in before. At least, he didn't think it was, his memories were somewhat blurred. The last thing McKay could recall was being interrogated by one of the Ymanhin. They'd drugged him that would explain the fuzzy feeling inside his head.

He slid off the bed, testing his legs carefully at first, satisfied when they were steady enough, then staggered over to the sink on the opposite wall. He felt significantly better after splashing liberal amounts of cold water over his face and lower arms. The room was dominated by a large worktable in the middle of the room, one wall occupied by a narrow, iron frame bed and a large cupboard. On the other side of the sink was a basic shower, consisting of a showerhead over a drain hole and a toilet.

The walls showed evidence of multiple layers of paint that had been applied on top of each other and were now slowly peeling off. It didn't look like the room had been used in a while; dust gathered on surfaces and cobwebs in the corners.

Rodney felt a twinge at his right ankle but ignored it and walked over to the cupboard. The twinge returned with vengeance and turned into a stabbing pain, shooting up his leg, his knee buckling under his weight. The physicist slid to the floor, rested a moment to recover before pulling up his pant leg. Instead of an injury, he saw a thin, black anklet embedded in his skin. It was hardly two millimetres thick, but deeply pressed into his reddened skin. He gingerly reached out to touch it, but shrank back as soon as he had made contact. The touch had provoked a flare-up of intense pain, driving a spike of agony up his side. Rodney panicked and didn't notice the door opening. By the time he became aware of her presence, she was standing behind him.

"I see it is working."

He whirled around. The pain was suddenly gone. He was looking at a middle aged Ymanhin woman. She was dressed in dark blue uniform like clothes. In her hand, she was a small device. Rodney had the sinking feeling that the little object was connect to the sudden pain he'd experienced.

"I'm Maje. I'll be supervising you. Come with me."

The little demonstration didn't leave much question as to how the supervision would be carried out. McKay had many questions, but thought better than to ask at the moment. He followed Maje along the corridor, silently trying to memorize the turns they made. The pair stepped out into a huge hall, the sight making Rodney stop on the spot. The hall housed a gigantic ship, its design reminding Rodney of the Puddle Jumpers on a much larger scale.

"It is a ship of the people that you call Ancients. We found it over four hundred years ago on the bottom of the Kintarin Sea. It wasn't until we met your people that we realized what it was, that we had found and why we had never managed to initialize its systems despite our best efforts."

Rodney frowned. It didn't make sense. Even if the Ymanhin had made the connection between their technology and the ship they had found, the Atlantians had been very careful not to mention anything about the gene to the Ymanhin. But then he remembered Sjel's report. The traitor. Someone had known a lot about them, including about the gene. The same people who'd grabbed John and Carson. So it had been about the gene. They needed them for their genes, to activate or test something. But what did they want from him now?

TBC


	14. Chapter 13

_**Vital Lies**_

_**Chapter 13**_

Fersor came by again, bearing a bowl of hot soup for Elizabeth while she waited for Wam Vter to return with news from his consultation with the Judicial Council. He had offered to arrange for transport back to the villa, but Dr Weir had insisted that she wait. She had to know. Elizabeth absently stirring the soup, lost in thought when Wam Vter finally returned.

"Dr. Weir?" She looked up, internally bracing herself for whatever news the liaison officer might bring.

"I have spoken to the Council and they have accepted to my proposal. Dr. McKay will receive a token sentence and then will be handed over to you, under the condition that he will not return to Yamin."

Elizabeth nodded, but she was still cautious. "What kind of punishment are we talking about?"

"He will spend one solar year in exile. We believe it is important to preserve the original sentiment of the punishment."

Elizabeth's thoughts halted. One solar year. They couldn't do that to Rodney! She couldn't let that happen. The injustice of it filled her with anger.

"I need to talk to him." She finally managed with hard won control.

"I'm afraid that is not possible. Dr. McKay has already been transferred to Shukur to serve his sentence. Communication with prisoners is not permitted. But you need not worry, Dr. Weir; the conditions on Shukur may be basic, but they are very well civilized." Wam Vter meant to reassure her, but his words only drove home the reality of what Rodney would have to face.

"I have taken the liberty to arrange for a shuttle to take you back to your accommodations. You are welcome to stay on Yamin as long as you please, Dr. Weir. Our people still have a lot to share. We should not let this unfortunate incident come between us."

Elizabeth pulled herself together. Now was not to time to let her personal feelings show. She was not going to convince Wam Vter of Rodney's innocence with words. Right now she needed to keep the relations with the Ymanhin alive if she ever wanted to have a chance to renegotiate the terms of Rodney's sentence.

"No, I agree, we should definitely keep our dialogue alive. But I need to return to Atlantis for a few days. Dr. McKay's absence will be felt in our City. I will need some time to reassign the tasks he was in charge of."

"I'm please to hear that. I will tell the pilot to bring you to the Gate instead. We had an incident at the Interstellar Travel Station this morning and the area is still being cleared up, so you will have to use the Gate on North Kintarin. It is a longer flight by shuttle, I'm afraid."

oOo

The shuttle flight seemed endless. The pilot's mannerisms were typical of the Ymanhin. He bowed to greet her, smiled a lot and was courteous. First they flew to the villa to pick up Dr. Alley and the rest of the gear then the shuttle headed for the northern continent. After giving the worried Dr. Alley the abbreviated version of what had happened to Rodney, Elizabeth dozed off. She'd been up all night, waiting for news of her wayward scientist.

By the time she jerked awake again, they were already landing again. Wishing for a night of oblivion, Dr Weir straightened and climbed out of the shuttle. It was night outside, but she had no idea what time it was going to be on Atlantis. She'd hardly slept since returning to Yamin; it didn't seem to matter what time it was. The Interstellar Travel Station in North Kintarin looked identical to the building that housed the Gate on the southern continent. Even on the inside, the layout was the same. Being night time, they were the only travellers present. Elizabeth was glad when the technician finally dialled the Gate. Figuring out all that had happened on the planet could wait until she had slept for at least a few hours.

Her first taste of what was to come was when Grodin came down to greet her as she stepped through the Gate. One look at him told her how worn and exhausted he was. The grim expression on his face foretold bad news. He didn't need to say for Elizabeth to know something bad had happened.

"Aiden and Teyla?" She asked, bracing herself for the inevitable message of doom.

"We don't know what happened. We thought you would know. There was some sort of fire or explosion near the Gate on Yamin. They were caught in the middle of it."

"How are they?" Elizabeth tried to keep her voice steady.

"We should go to your office." Dr. Grodin suggested.

"Right." Elizabeth had forgotten all about Dr. Alley still standing besides her. She led the way to her office and gestured for Peter to sit down before she sank down into a chair herself.

"What happened?" She finally asked.

"Lieutenant Ford came through the Gate, dragging Dr. Beckett along with him. He told us to send a team back for Teyla and the major before he passed out. I sent Bates with a team. They found a fire raging uncontrolled on the other side. He said it looked like a demolition site. They found Teyla unconscious but they couldn't find Major Sheppard. The smoke from the fire forced his team back pretty quickly; I made the decision not to risk sending a second team. Stackhouse and Bates are still in the infirmary for smoke inhalation." Grodin defended his actions.

"You made the right call." Elizabeth reassured him.

"We don't know what happened to the major." Grodin shook his head, Elizabeth could tell he was still in shock.

"We will find out. Have you been down to the infirmary?" Grodin shook his head again.

oOo

The infirmary was filled with hushed activity, its small ward nearly filled to capacity. Dr. Biro caught them as they entered.

"Dr. Weir. Good to see you."

"Dr. Biro, how are they doing?"

"I'm going to release Stackhouse and Bates tomorrow morning. They've been treating them for smoke inhalation and are off oxygen now, but I want to keep an eye on them overnight. Lieutenant Ford suffered wounds to his shoulder and upper back, probably from flying debris. We also treated him for second and third degree burns to his arms and hands."

"When will we be able to talk to him? Major Sheppard is still missing and he may be the only one who can tell us what happened to him."

"He was awake briefly since when settled him in his bed and he might wake up today or possible not until tomorrow. But he's on morphine I'm afraid, so don't expect too much." Dr. Biro cautioned.

Dr. Weir nodded. "Carson and Teyla?"

"Dr. Beckett was injured on the planet, yes?"

"Yes, but the Ymanhin haven't given us any details. There isn't much I can tell you. Dr. Alley spoke with the Ymanhin healers, if anyone knows something, he does."

"I will need to talk to him. I need to know more about their nano technology."

"I'll send Dr. Alley down now. How is he doing?"

"Aside from his earlier injuries and some worrisome results in the post-mission routine blood tests that might be due to whatever he was given on Yamin, he took a hit to the back of the head and suffered a rather nasty gash to his back and concussion. It'll be at least twenty-four hours before we can think about asking questions."

"That's not good enough." Elizabeth knew the stakes.

"I'm sorry but there's nothing I can do to change that."

"What about Teyla?"

"Teyla fractured two vertebrae in her lower back, but luckily there was no damage to the spinal cord. She'll be flat on her back three or four weeks but she should fully recover. I'm also concerned because her oxygen saturation levels were very low when she was brought in, but she recovered quickly."

"Is she awake?" Elizabeth hated to ask, but she needed to know what happened.

"She also suffered a minor concussion; she's drifting in and out. I don't think talking to her would be a good idea."

"Dr, Biro, I have a man out there. I need to find out what happened."

"Teyla isn't in any condition to report about what happened." Dr. Biro said firmly.

"This isn't open to debate. We are talking about the life of Major Sheppard here."

"Ten minutes." Dr. Biro sighed and conceded.

oOo

Kijen couldn't keep the shaking at bay, cold wind coming in through every crack. He didn't think it was possible to feel so cold. The image from his dream came back to haunt him. Snow. Snow was cold…maybe, he couldn't quite piece the memory together. He tried to shift to ease the ache in his shoulders. His hands and feet were numb from the cold and obeyed his commands only reluctantly.

The truck stopped suddenly. Kijen stilled and listed. The cold had distracted him from worrying too much about what was happening. He didn't have to wait long for the sound of footsteps on gravel. The crunching sounds neared followed by rustling of fabric; someone was working on untying the tarp. The bright sunlight suddenly filling his small space was blinding, driving a sharp pain through his skull. One of the men who'd escorted him to the truck reached towards him. Kijen shrank back.

"Hold still. Unless you don't want to eat. And don't try anything. You won't get far."

That got Kijen to comply and let the man free his wrists. Wincing, he gingerly stretched his stiff muscles. The rays of sunlight were providing welcoming warmth on his skin. It wasn't enough to chase the deep cold from his bones, but it was enough to ease his shivers.

The man handed him a metal cup.

"Drink, it's all you are going to get."

Kijen sniffed at it then took a careful sip. The hot liquid was very sweet, but surprisingly bland. Rodney would love this, he thought. For a split second an image flashed through his mind. He tried to catch it, but it was already gone. Rodney? Who was he? Obviously he knew him. Had he been the man that had died in the other stasis pod? Not knowing frustrated Kijen. The flitter of a memory made him hungry for more. What about all the other things he couldn't remember? Kijen could feel the memories lurking just beneath the surface of his consciousness.

"Drink up. We have to get going again." The man ordered, seeing Kijen linger.

"Where are you taking me?" Kijen asked.

"To your owner."

"Nobody owns me!" Kijen protested without thinking. Even though he didn't know, it just sounded wrong. People couldn't be owned...could they?

"Nonsense. Tyrone sold you. He paid for you to be taken to Deakon. He owns you." The man affirmed before taking the cup back.

Kijen didn't believe him. He may not remember anything about himself, but he knew that nobody owned him. The guard was looking down at the cup and Kijen pounced, wrestling the man to the ground. His weight worked to his advantage. He saw the flicker of the man's eyes and knew what he was about to do. Kijen reached the gun first and depressed the trigger.

The recoil of the weapon surprised him, dropping the weapon to the ground. Shocked, he stared at the man, lying dead in the dirt with dark blood staining his coat. He'd just killed a man without thinking twice about it. It had happened automatically. He'd grabbed the gun and fired it, a reflex reaction. This wasn't been the first time he'd handled a gun. Kijen felt the patch on the side of his head. A gunfight had brought him to this plant. A prison. He'd already killed. Still, his hands were shaking as he reached for the fallen weapon. He managed to tuck the gun into the waistband of his shorts before he started to gag. He tried to swallow, but he couldn't fight the urge to vomit. Throwing up what little he'd eaten that day, the lancing pain in his head returning. It wasn't back with the overwhelming force of the early morning, but it wasn't ebbing away either. Kijen sat down on the ground. He didn't want to move ever again. All he wanted was to stay in the sun, letting the rays warmth sink into his skin. He didn't want to think about the body lying only a few feet from him, he didn't want to think about being stranded in the middle of a wasteland, he didn't want to think about the dead man from the stasis pod.

TBC


	15. Chapter 14

Teyla looked pale and her eyes were closed when Elizabeth approached her bedside. Dr. Biro had finally given her the okay to talk to the Athosian woman, if only for ten minutes. Although the doctor had cautioned her not to expect too much from the conversation, Elizabeth hoped that it would give her some clue as to what had happened to John. At the moment, they had no idea what had happened to him. Why had he not been with the others when the explosion had occurred? If he was safe, then why had he not contacted Atlantis by now?

Elizabeth pulled up a chair next to Teyla's bed, willing to wait for Teyla to wake again. The feet of the chair scrapped over the metal floor of the infirmary and Elizabeth scooted closer to the bed. The screeching noise roused Teyla and her eyes slid open. She blinked, her gaze slowly settling on Elizabeth. Elizabeth didn't like the glassy look in her eyes and the way she seemed to look through her, instead of at her. But Teyla had registered her presence all right.

"Dr. Weir?" Her voice sounded sleepy, but still carried her usual confidence.

"I'm here Teyla. It's going to be all right. You are going to be fine." Dr. Weir reassured her, not sure if Teyla needed reassurance. She only knew that if the situation were reversed, she would be scared to death.

"Are the others going to be all right? I asked Dr. Biro before, but she would not tell me."

"They are going to be all right." Elizabeth paused. "But John didn't come back through the Gate with you. So far we don't know what happened to him. Can you tell me what happened before the explosion?"

Teyla's brow furrowed and she closed her eyes for a moment. "It does not make any sense. I saw him, just before. He was with Lieutenant Ford and Doctor Beckett. I was across the hall. That is the last thing I remember clearly." Teyla licked her lip. "I think…I tried to get out, get some fresh air, but I couldn't…"

"It's all right, Teyla. We'll find John. We'll contact the Ymanhin and start an investigation." Elizabeth placed a hand on Teyla's. "Get some rest. We can talk more when you feel better."

"Good night, Doctor Weir." Teyla said, closing her eyes.

Elizabeth stayed, waiting for Teyla's breaths to even out. When she was sure that the other woman was asleep, she quietly left the infirmary.

Elizabeth yearned for a shower and a good night's sleep, but there was work to be done. She had already lost track of one of her people on Ymanhin and now Rodney had been exiled onto a prison planet. She wasn't going to lose John, too. Grodin was gone from the control room. He deserved his rest. Private Reynolds was leaning over her computer console, resting her head on her arms. She looked asleep. Dr. Weir checked her watch. The nightshift had already started, but the private had already been on duty for all of the day shift. Organizing the military work force was John's resort and in his absence it had fallen into Bates' hand, who had shared some of the responsibilities with Ford, as he also was tasked with the security of the city. Now all three men were out of commission. Elizabeth waved to the technician on the other side of the room. He looked up, putting his beverage down.

"Dr. Malloy, dial Yamin and try to establish contact on any of their known frequencies." Elizabeth ordered.

Dr. Malloy looked at her. "I'm running a computer diagnostic here."

"The diagnostic can wait. This can't."

oOo

Maje had given Rodney the grand tour of the Atlentian ship. For a ship that had been lying on the floor of the ocean for millenia it was in amazing condition. Just like Atlantis, it didn't betray its age. The green-grey metal still had the magnificent luster of a new vessel. From what Rodney could see the ship was in perfect condition. There was no sign that the ship had crashed.

"The ship looks perfect. Has it ever flown?" He asked, already knowing the answer. The Ymanhin couldn't get as much as a beep out of the ship without a person with the ATA gene to initialize the systems. Rodney assume that the ship was most like Atlantis. Once activated, a lot of the system could be handled by people without the gene.

"No, the systems seem to be dead, but our engineers can't find what's wrong. That's where you come in. We know that you are an expert on the Ancient system. You will find the defect."

The fact that the ship had remained dead and cold even in his presence told Rodney everything he needed to know. Depleted power source. And he suspected that a ship this size needed a ZPM to fly. If that was the case, the Ymanhin would threaten him for nothing. There was northing he could do.

"Could I see the power systems?" Her turned to Maje.

Five minutes later he knew. The ZPM was depleted. The ship wouldn't fly no matter what he did. But he couldn't tell that to his captors. The moment they realized that he was useless, his life was worthless. He would be lucky if he went back to prison.

He had to play for time. "This is diffenrent form the ship we have at our disposal. I need to study the energy distributionm system." Rodney said the fisrt thing that came to his mine.

"All right. Our enigineers have drawn complete blue prints of alls the ship's systems. I'll bring out back to your room and have someone bring the plans." Maje agreed.

Although Maje had not challenged him, he didn't like the way her eyes lingered on him after she had spoken. It wouldn't be easy to fool her.

oOo

_The air was to hot to breathe. Every breath seemed to singe his lungs, sending stabs of pain through his body. He tried to run but suddenly everywhere around him flames sprung from the ground, dancing wildly, licking the ceiling, leaving black patches. The ceiling started cracking, the snapping sound well audible over the wild fire. The first peices of the ceiling rained down, some missing him by mere inches, some tumbling into the flames. He raised his arms to protect himself, but suddenly there was a shark crack and what remained of the ceiling burst into flames. He gasped in the hot air, the fire consuming all oxygen. His legs gave out under him and he fell to his knees. When he looked up he saw the flaming ceiling slowly falling down._

John woke with a start, gulping for breath. He had expected singing hot air and smoke, but the air was cool and smelled clean. He felt cool air on his skin and soft sheets under his hands. He opened his eyes to blackness, but after his eyes adjusted, he could make out the outlines of a small room. It wasn't is room on Atlantis. Besides, he should be in the infirmary. His memories weren't very clear. All he remembered for a long time were fragments. But he knew that he had been in a fire, together with his time. He couldn't tell how much time had passed since the incident, or whether he had woken before, but he remembered the fire, and he remembered being back on the way to Atlantis. Obvisously he hadn't made it.

He raised his arm to see what time it was and found his watch gone. Unsettled, he pushed himself up. He reghretted his moved instantly. His whole upper body protested painfully. He remembered his back wound. His back had been hurt when they had been on their way to Atlantis, he could remember now. He wasn't too clear on what had happened. There were some fragments floating around his mind. A conference room, Elizabeth, Rodney, blue-skinned aliens. A corridor, half caved in. Dust filling the air. Rodney screaming his name. Rodney...

John swung his legs over the edge of the bed. Steadying himself on the wall, he came to his feet. His whole body hurt. It felt as if his skin was to small. Burns! He had once come to close to a bomb back in Afganisthan and sufferend 2nd and 3rd degree burns on his back. He had been lucky, the damaged area had been small and had healed without complications. The scar wasn't visible in daily life, John hardly ever thought about the incident, even though he had the permanent memento on his skin.

John switched on the light. A warm light, revealed a surprisingly nice room. The furniture was wooden instead of steel, bed, desk, chair, wardrobe, nightstand. The desk stood under a window. John took a look outside, but he couldn't make out much, aside from several building blocks across the road.

He opened the wardrobe and found it filled with clothes. All tee-shirts and sweat-pants, Earth-style. Nothing like the tunics the Ymanhin wore. His curiosity peaked, he went to check out the nightstand.

Books. In English. He checked out the printing information. Printed in the USA. They could only have gotten these from Atlantis.The clothes they could have made, but not the books. They had even payed attention to his interests, by including a book about the millenium problems, a selection of maths problems, unsolved so far.

Just for fun, John tried the door. To his big surprise, it wasn't locked. The hallway was dark. As soon as he stepped out, the lights flickered on. Motion sensor.

Still, John proceeded down the coridor. On the left, on his side of the corridor was another door. On the bottom of the corridor was a glass door. John didn't know why, but something compelled him to get out of the building. Like the door to his room, the glass door wasn't locked. He stepped outside and was hit by a wave of icy air. The floor under his bare feet was freezing. He was ill equiped wearing thin bedclothes and being barefoot.

"Aren't you cold?" A voice from behind made John swirl around. A Ymanhin woman dressed in a blue tunic and blue pants stood in the doorframe.

"Who are you?" John asked

"I'm Velig. I'm here to help you."

Velig. The name sounded familiar. but he couldn't place it. The woman looked like thousands of her people, as far as he was concerned.

"Come back in, there is nowhere to go." There was an underlying threat.

John went back into the building, glad to be back in the warm.

"Are you in pain?" Velig asked him softly.

"A little." John replied.

"Your wounds are still healing. It's important that you make a full recovery. I will give you something for the pain. Come with me."

John ignored her.

"Where is the rest of my team?"

Velig looked at home with a blank expression. "I don't know. I assume they are back on your planet. But that is no longer your problem."

"What do you want from me?" John asked as reality started to sink in.

"We need you. Our society hasn't made any new advancments in the last 300 years. The Ancient gene will be the next step in our evolution. We will finally move on to a new level. Our technology has stagnanted, with the gene we will gain access to a new generation of technology."

"I can't help you there." John tried.

"We will make this work. We have invested too much to give up now. We already impregnated a woman with your sperm, but the child didn't bear the gene. We cloned you, but we couldn't replicate the gene with our technology. This time, we took your DNA and the DNA of one one of your team mates of the gene, to insure that the child carries the gene. Ideally, we would have chosen a woman with the gene to carry the child, but none was available. Artificial wombs are risky, so we chose you to carry the child."

John thought he hadn't heard right.

"Me?"

"Yes. There is enough precedent among our people and we have run simulations using your anatomy and the results have been promising. Of course, it would be a first." Velig sounded excited.

"But-"

"It's not an easy procedure. We are under a lot of time pressure. The foetus is ready for implantation, but your body isn't ready yet. You only had your first injection..."

"Injection of what?"

"Modified tumour cells. Together with nano-bots, an artificial womb develops in a matter of days. The process is somewhat painful."

John didn't know what to say. Obviously his consent didn't matter in this scheme.

oOo

Kijen didn't know how long he had sat there, next to the man he had murdered. He only got up, when he felt the sun burning on his skin. His limbs were stiff and his head felt like it was in a vice. He walked up the front of the van and open the passengers door and rifled through the glove box. He found a paper bag with a sandwich, and a bottle of a water. He had to get away from the body. But he had no where to go. Back to Deakon? He couldn't fend for himself here. Not without his memories and with his injuries. But he couldn't depend on Deakon forever. But if the doctor could help him recover his memories, he had to return there. On foot the journey would take at least days, in this climate impossible. He had no memories, but he knew about deserts. He had spent time in a desert climate, even though he couldn't recall the details. Looking at the sky, he could that the sun was past its zenith. He had about eight more hours until sunset. Then the deadly cold would settle over the landscape. On foot there was no way, he could reach shelter before nightfall. He had to take the truck.


	16. Chapter 15

As promised, a man delivered the blueprints of the Ancient ship to Rodney's room less than ten minutes after Maje had brought him back. It didn't escape Rodney that the man delivering the plans locked the door when he left.

Rodney unrolled the plans. They were incredibly detailed, including every conduit, every wire and every subroutine of the ship. For a people who where not familiar with the Ancient technology, the plans were an amazing achievement. The Ymanhin knew a lot about the ship, they had had two centuries to explore it. Rodney was relatively certain that Maje had bought his excuse of having to study the energy distribution systems, but in the future he would have to think carefully when stalling for time.

Despite the situation, having the plans to an Ancient ship, was a unique opportunity. A blueprint didn't replace running tests on the systems, but from the pans alone, Rodney could see that the ship was based on an entirely different type of technology than the puddle jumpers. Although the Atlantis team had put considerable efforts into studying he propulsion and weapons systems of the puddle jumpers, in the hopes of being able to recreate the technology, they didn't fully understand it yet. But still, Rodney could tell, that this ship was not based on the same technology. In a way it made sense, the puddle jumpers had a relatively small mass and were limited in speed. From mission, they know that extra power use, for example, buy cloaking the jumper or turning on the shield, the maximum speed was reduced. So if the Puddle Jumper's engine system was already maxed out on a ship the mass of the Jumpers, it would be insufficient for a much larger, heavier ship. Still, the propulsion system of the ship the Ymanhin found didn't even look related. If it hadn't been for the ZPM powering the ship and the familiar architecture, Rodney wouldn't even have identified the technology as Ancient.

Rodney laid out the blueprints on the floor, as they wouldn't fit on the worktable. There were plans of thirteen decks.

He had seen everything on his tour of the ship with Maje, but the plans provided him with insight on just what possibilities were lying dormant in the gigantic ships.

Deck one was the command deck. From what he had seen, everything was still intact. The interfaces very just like the ones in the City. From the control deck, every function on the ship could be controlled. The specs of the drive had been carefully drawn out by the Ymanhin engineers. Rodney couldn't help his excitement. If his instincts were right, and he was rarely wrong when it came to science, the drive was something that was not just beyond the Puddle Jumpers engine system, but also beyond the Asgard's hyper drive technology. Granted he had not been able to study the Asgard technology at the live object, but he had read every piece every written about it by SGC scientists. And not just because he liked the way Sam Carter wrote.

A drive that was capable to reach distant galaxies in a matter of days. A ship that could withstand that kind of stress had to be built of an exceptional material. A resistant, but light alloy.

Decks two, three and four housed the drive system and engineering controls. From the plans alone couldn't figure out all of what was going on on those decks, but he could tell that that separated power system upheld life-support, drive control and weapons. Now Rodney could see how the ZPM figured into the ship's systems. The ZPM supplied power to power cell for the separate power systems. Rodney made a note to check out the power cells on his next visits to the ship. Even though the ZPM was depleted it was possible that there was some change that there was residual energy left in one of the power cells. It might go a long way towards giving show for the Ymanhin. But Rodney doubted that there was energy left in any system, because everything had remained dark and silent when he had been there.

Rodney started to fully understand the enormity as he worked his way through the rest of the blue prints, deck by deck. Decks six, seven and eight were crew quarters, and based on Rodney quick count; there was space for a crew of around 500. Decks nine and ten held labs, a medical centre, and some more installations Rodney didn't recognize, but he guessed fell under the Ancients idea of entertainment. Decks eleven and twelve were empty, probably for cargo. When Rodney got to the floor plan of the thirteenth deck, he looked at it and frowned. While all the other plans had been incredibly detailed, this showed only a few outlines, but most of the space was shaded. Rodney noticed that the shaded areas were behind doors equipped with a special lock. Rodney didn't recognize it from the plan; it was much more complicated than the gene-activated door-locks in Atlantis. The locks in deck thirteen were independent of the ships systems, each powered by a small power cell, that kept the lock in place, even if the main power of the ship failed. Someone really wanted to keep strangers off this deck. Maje had not shown him down to this deck. He had to examine those locks. They were the only thing still working on this ship and someone had designed them to last that long for a reason. The Ancients had built nothing without a failsafe, and Rodney had feeling the failsafe might be hidden on deck thirteen.

oOo

Elizabeth had finally gone to bed after her message to the Ymanhin government wasn't answered. She had checked by her people in the infirmary, then she had finally had that shower she had been longing for and had crawled into bed. As exhausted as she was, sleep did not come easily. She fell asleep eventually, but kept waking up, fragment of a dream lingering in her mind. She couldn't recall what she had dreamt about, she could only feel herself gasping for breath. She could hardly hear the knocking on her door over the pounding of her heart. She hadn't realized what had woken her. Figuring it had to be important; Elizabeth got out of bed and went to open the door, without bothering to dress. The door slid open and revealed a concerned looking Dr. Alley.

"Dr. Alley? What is it? Why didn't you call me on the radio?"

"I apologize, but you weren't answering your radio. It's Dr. Beckett. His condition, it has gotten worse." Dr. Alley fidgeted with his shirt.

Elizabeth wasn't sure why Dr. Alley was at her door in the middle of the night. If he needed medical advice he should have gone to Dr. Biro. She looked at Dr. Alley questioningly.

"Dr. Weir, I talked to Dr. Biro and she is as puzzled as I am. Dr. Beckett is suffering from progressive organ failure. We think it is a reaction to the nano-bots the Ymanhin used."

"I thought the procedure went fine." Dr. Weir was stunned.

"Everything was fine as long as the nano-bots were active, now that their job is done, they are not properly dissolving. They should be absorbed into the system, but in Dr. Beckett's case, he developed toxicity from the absorbed nano-bots. The damage started happening within minutes. There is nothing we can do to stop it."

Elizabeth closed her eyes for a moment. This couldn't be happening. She had thought Carson was going to be all right. Now this.

"The Ymanhin haven't responded to our message yet." Elizabeth thought out loud. "The Sergeant Stackhouse's exploration team found two stasis units a while ago. Can you place Dr. Beckett in stasis?"

"It is possible, but risky. His condition will continue to worsen even while he is in stasis. He might not survive the revival process." Dr. Alley cautioned.

oOo

Elizabeth and Radek sat in the make-shift waiting room in front of the infirmary. Dr. Alley had woken Radek to help with the technical aspects of the stasis unit. Now all Elizabeth and Radek could do was wait. Carson was in critical condition and Dr. Alley was not certain whether they could put him in stasis in time.

To Elizabeth, it seemed like they had waited for an eternity, when Dr Alley entered the waiting room.

"I have bad news, I'm afraid. We were just initializing the stasis process, when Dr. Beckett suffered a massive stroke. There was nothing we could do. I'm sorry." Dr. Alley conveyed the bad news.

"Was there a problem with the stasis unit?" Radek asked, needing to know whether he had overlooked something.

"No, Dr. Zelenka, you did everything you could. The stasis unit was working perfectly as far as I can tell." Dr. Alley reassured Radek.

Elizabeth swallowed, and then formulated her question. "What was the cause of the stroke?"

"I can't say with certainty, but my best guess it was a result of the nano-bots absorbing into his system." Dr. Alley explained.

"Is it possible that it was the result of an injury he suffered in the fire?" Elizabeth asked.

"Next to impossible. His injuries were not life threatening." Dr. Alley replied. "The technology of the Ymanhin simply seems incompatible with our physiology. It works to an amazing extent, but..."

"I expect your written report by tonight." Elizabeth shook her head. She didn't need medical theories now. She needed some time alone. She checked her watch. It was almost four in the morning. She might just have to chance to have some quiet time. Elizabeth was about the leave for her quarters when Dr. Alley spoke.

"Dr. Weir, what are was supposed to do with the remains?"

Elizabeth was surprised by Dr. Alley's neutral tone, but supposed that in his field of work, a certain distance to death was a necessary habit.

"Bring him down to level 15. Dr. Beckett left a last will and testament on file. I will give instructions for the funeral arrangements tomorrow." Elizabeth replied. Right now, the idea of Carson's death seemed preposterous, she could see him, hear him. He couldn't be dead. It was just not possible. Elizabeth walked back to her office on autopilot. She locked the door behind herself and sat down on her desk. She knew she should be pulling Carson's file, but doing that would be acknowledging what happened and she wasn't ready to do that just yet. Right now, Elizabeth wished she had never heard of the Ymanhin.

TBC


	17. Chapter 16

Radek went back to his quarters after Dr. Alley had given him and Elizabeth the bad news. He sat down on the bed. His mind was reeling. Carson was dead. There was something that seemed wrong in this picture and it wasn't just that one of his friends had died. Radek got back up and left his room, he needed some fresh air. Five minutes later, he stood on Rodney's favourite balcony. It figured that it was next to his lab. Radek leaned his arms on the railing and let the time since their first contact with the Yamin pass through his mind. It had almost been nine month since they had discovered the advanced civilisation by chance. Six months of contact and negotiations had passed peacefully and without problems. Radek himself had spent two weeks on Yamin, participating in negotiations and technology exchange. It had been the Yamin who had helped them build the mining operation on M5X-209. The Ymanhin had showed them the used of the Lavinthin. Without them, they would have run out of bullets by now. But the Lavinthin made even more effective bullets against the Wraith than conventional bullets against the Wraith. Radek could also remember Carson talking about meeting a healer from Yamin and their extraordinary medical technology. He had even mentioned the nano-technology. If the Ymanhin were hostile, why would they share so much of their technology with them? It didn't make any sense. The only thing that had made them suspicious initially had been that the Ymanhin had claimed that the Wraith had never been to their planet. Elizabeth had found that hard to believe, but without evidence to the contrary; the Ymanhin civilization was far more advanced than that of an, except the Ancients, she had let it be.

Yes, and then things had suddenly gone South without warning. John and Carson had disappeared and Rodney had been injured. And treated on Yamin. And his injuries had healed perfectly. So far for Dr. Alley's theory of the nano-technology not being compatible with human physiology. Radek saw two possibilities, either the Ymanhin had intentionally manipulated the nano-bots to kill humans, or someone on Atlantis had helped.

Radek stared out onto the ocean and thought about it. He wasn't used to thinking about people. Logically, the Ymanhin didn't have a motive to doctor with the nano-technology. If they wanted to make John and Carson to disappear they could just have done that. Atlantis had thought them lost after the terrorist attack on the trade negotiation, if the Ymanhin had produced their dead bodies and attributed their deaths to the terrorist, things would have been a lot easier. The Ymanhin society reminded Radek of Earth. It was the closest they had seen in the Pegasus galaxy. Unlike the hunter-gather people like the Athosian, the Ymanhin were not threatened by outside influences like bad weather or the Wraith, but they were as perfect as the Ancients had been. The Ymanhin were a threat to themselves, like every Earth society, Yamin was rife with conflict, criminals, terrorist, politicians, hidden agendas. The Ymanhin fought against each other, spied on each other, things that had seemed unique to the humans on Earth. Radek was sure that if the Ymanhin politician had wanted John and Rodney dead, they would have chosen a more inconspicuous way.

Assuming that someone on Atlantis was involved in what was ultimately murder, would open another range of new possibilities. Radek didn't see any motives and he saw even fewer opportunities. On Ymanhin, the only people with access to Carson had been Elizabeth, Rodney, Teyla, Ford and John. Limiting the time frame to the twelve hours before his death, the people who had definitely had contact with Carson were John, Teyla and Ford on the planet. Dr. Alley, Dr. Biro and various infirmary staff back on Atlantis. None of them struck Radek as killers. He didn't know the infirmary staff all that well, but unless someone had had a personal grudge against the chief of medicine, there were no motives.

Then he had an idea how to narrow down the time frame. Radek hurried to McKay's lab. Rodney kept it locked, but after he had spent the last two month mining on M5X-209, he had given Radek the pass code for the door. Radek booted up the computer and typed in McKay's password. It never hurt to know your boss' password. As the chief scientist, McKay had to review the data sheets and the final reports. Rodney hated the paperwork and liked to delegate the work to Radek and other scientists.

Radek pulled up the most recent data sheets sorted by date. He was looking for the data sheets of blood work from Carson and the others. Radek searched for the data sheets from the medical lab. Seven data sheets labelled 'standard post-mission' from late last night. Radek had taken a look at the data, but it was outside his field. The numbers were meaningless to him. There was another data sheet also labelled 'standard post-mission', this one from early in the morning. Radek opened the file. Lots of numbers. What jumped out to him that Dr. Alley was listed as the technician. Aside from research, the medical staff didn't carry out standard tests.

John hadn't slept for the rest of the night after Velig had led him back into the building. She had not locked him in, but John had still stayed inside. He had thought about what Velig had told him. It sounded almost to crazy to believe but it would explain the fragments of memory that John remembered.

Yamin. The name of the planet. He had been there with Rodney and Elizabeth. He recalled the inside of a room with large window, overlooking a city. Then they were in the corridor, Rodney was yelling, there was blood and gunfire. John was pretty certain that those memories belonged together. There were other fragments that made less sense. A dark room, Carson was there, badly injured. A man with a gun. He now recalled that he had indeed seen Velig before. He could see the image clearly in his mind. She had been dressed differently and the room had been different, but it been definitely her. John was not yet sure what it was that had happened.

An unplanned escape was unlikely to succeed. He was vastly outnumbered and without any resources. John didn't plan to stick around for too long, but for the moment to best plan seemed to be to play along and find out as much as possible.

He had already learned one thing; he was no longer on the Ymanhin home world Yamin. It hadn't occurred to him at the time, but when he had been back inside he had thought about it. From the planet Yamin, one could see both moons, Shukur and Jolan. The night sky had been completely dark, no stars, no moons. He could still assume there was a Stargate on the planet. The Ymanhin didn't have spacecraft, their shuttle technology was only developed for travel within the atmosphere. Unless of course, they had lied about that, which wouldn't be surprising, John thought. After all, they had never let on how much they knew about Atlantian technology and the gene.

oOo

"I'm not sure what your point is Dr. Zelenka." Elizabeth pinched the bridge of her nose. She definitely needed to sleep. The coffee substitute was vastly overrated. She still took another sip.

"My point is, that I think it is unlikely that Dr. Beckett died as a result of the nano-technology." Radek explained. He had not mentioned that he had concrete suspicious as to what had happened. "I'm only asking that you have the blood samples taken last night tested again."

"Tested for what?" Elizabeth asked. She had the feeling that Radek was making even less sense than the average scientist.

"The presence of the nano-bots." Radek said. He really had no clue what exactly he was hoping to find. It could be any number of toxins or poisons, possible alien ones. But if he could prove that the nano-bots had not decayed yet, them Elizabeth would have to believe that there was some other explanation.

"All right, I will have Dr. Biro retest the blood samples." Elizabeth said. "I'll let you know when she has the results." She paused. "There is also something else. You were one of Dr. Beckett's good friends, as far as I know?"

Radek nodded.

"I want you to go through his quarters. Put together things we can send back to his family, and things to put in storage."

"But it's only been..."

"I know. You don't have to do it today or tomorrow. I just want things to be taken care of."

"What wishes that Carson have?" Radek asked.

"None, he just left letters for his family and for Rodney."

"When will the memorial service be?"

"I haven't decided yet. There seems no good time for it." Elizabeth sighed. "Probably tomorrow."

"Is there any news from Yamin yet?"

"No, they haven't replied yet to our messages. We trusted them when we shouldn't have. I trusted them. It cost us three good people. If that's the price, maybe we should have come here."

"Everyone knew what they were getting into."

"Are you sure? We are alone out here and everyone is out to get us. The Wraith, the Genii, the Ymanhin!" Elizabeth was sorry she had ever heard of the Stargate Project.

oOo

It had just started to dawn when Velig came back. John had been expecting her. He could have run, but he doubted that he would have gotten far. From what he had seen from his window and when he had been outside, the building his room was in, was part of some sort of settlement surrounded by a desert. John estimated that about four hours had passed, but his watch had been taken.

"Good morning, John." Velig greeted him in a friendly voice. "Did you sleep well?"

John wasn't sure what to make of his captors. He was treated with respect, even kindness, yet there was no doubt that he was a prisoner.

"Honestly, I haven't slept at all."

"I hope you are rested." Velig smiled. "We will start treatment today."

oOo

John thought he had experienced pain. Accidents, combat injuries, even purposely inflicted pain, he had been there. he had thought he was prepared, he had thought he knew what was coming, how he react and how he could pull himself back to a place where the pain didn't exist.

When ten minutes after the injection, he had started to feel pins in needles in his extremities, he had expected that it would get a lot worse.

When five minutes later, his muscles were burning like he had just run a marathon, he forced himself to relax, to breathe slowly and evenly.

When three minutes later, John didn't even want to breathe, so much did his muscles hurt, it took all he had not to scream. He had never hurt this much in his entire life. People had tried to cause him pain and hadn't mange to cause him agony like this. John could feel tears on his face, but he couldn't care less. His hands were gripping the bedcovers, maintaining the grip so hard that the muscles of his hand were cramping painfully, but he didn't let go.

His sense of time and reality were fading and John wasn't sure what had happened any more. He only knew that everything hurt, breathing, moving, everything. He was gasping for breath, staring at the swirling colours dancing in front of his eyes. Waves of red so intense that it hurt his eyes swirled together with blue and purple like a crazy kaleidoscope. John blinked trying to find Rodney or Carson, not remembering that he was alone.

John was lost in pain and confusion when Velig stepped into the room. He emitted a low moan when she put her hand on his. Velig stood next to his bed, watching him, before she prepared an injection. She hadn't anticipated the human's reaction to the treatment. He seemed to be in great pain. The human's co-operation was not necessary, but highly desirable to their goals.

The pinprick of the needle barely registered in John's mind. But the wave of warmth that started to spread through him felt like the best thing that had ever happened to him.

Within minutes, the pain decreased from being all consuming to being just there.

John tried to open his eyes, but everything was blurred and he couldn't keep his eyes open. He felt utterly drained. He wanted to ask Carson what was going on, but his body wasn't reacting to the message his brain was sending. Panicked, John tried to move, but his body was heavy and numb. He felt himself slipping away and tried to hold on, but the pull of oblivion was too strong.

When she was sure that he was asleep, Velig quietly left the room. It would be several hours until the human would wake up.

TBC


End file.
